2007:1765 - Drumderg, Tyrone

An archaeological evaluation was carried out in the townland of Drumderg, Benburb, Co. Tyrone, as a requirement of a planning application for a new dwelling. The proposed site lies to the west of the site of a late 16th-century artillery fort (TYR062–007) and to the north-west of the site of a second artillery fort of the same period (TYR062–012). Five trenches were opened in total (one measuring 1.6m by 36m, three measuring 1.6m by 15m and one measuring 1.6m by 5m), all located over anomalies identified by geophysical survey undertaken prior to the evaluation by Steven Trick and Ronan McHugh (Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork). Topsoil was mechanically removed in three of the trenches to natural subsoil, with nothing of archaeological significance uncovered. In the other two trenches the removal of topsoil revealed five features which required further evaluation. One of the features proved, on excavation, to be naturally occurring, two others are likely to be the result of recent activity associated with mid-20th-century landscaping or mineral extraction. Two of the features, however, are linear gullies and are potentially archaeological.
One of the linear gullies ran approximately north to south and was cut into the sand- and gravel-banded subsoil. It measured 1.03m wide (at its widest point) and extended beyond the trench to the north and south. The feature was 0.4m in depth. The uppermost fill was a light-brown sandy loam, which contained light charcoal flecking. Below this at the southern end was a dark-brown, very sandy loam containing charcoal which lay above a light-brown loamy sand, the primary fill, which extended across the full length and width of the feature. No artefacts were recovered from any of the fills of the gully. A sherd of sgraffito pottery was found in the topsoil immediately above the gully.
The north–south-running gully feature was cut by a second more shallow gully. This feature was aligned east-north-east to west-south-west and measured 3.3m long, and extended beyond the edge of the trench to the north-east. The fill was a light-brown sandy loam which was mottled with patches of subsoil and contained light charcoal flecking. The feature was 0.5–0.75m wide and was shallow, ranging between 0.02 and 0.07m in depth with gently sloping sides. The two gully features were determined to be of potential archaeological significance, although both were heavily truncated by ploughing.