2006:534 - Lisnagade, Down

This site was excavated as part of the recently completed BGE (Northern Ireland) gas pipeline. Two large linear features, 200m apart, were noted close to Lisnagade (DOW033–009), a site in state care. A 1m-wide box section was excavated by hand through each ditch. The southern ditch was 2m wide by 0.8m deep and extended beyond the extent of the pipeline working width. The ditch had a U-shaped profile with a flat base and was filled by a sequence of silty clays containing sherds of post-medieval pottery and glass. The northern ditch was 2.6m wide by 0.7m deep and again extended beyond the working width. It had a similar profile to the previous ditch but had a steep cut on its south side with a gentler slope on the north and was also filled by a sequence of silty clays. These two ditches are almost certainly contemporary and are the remains of removed post-medieval field boundaries.