2008:061 - A1 Scheme 1, Newry, Derrybeg – Site 14, Armagh

Excavation was carried out at Site 14 as part of the archaeological mitigation strategy for the A1 road improvement scheme, Beech Hill to Cloghogue, Carnbane, Co. Armagh. The closest recorded site is the Egyptian railway bridge located just to the south, and to the west lies the present-day Newry railway station. Built in 1844 the Egyptian Arch (IAR62–87) is a notable historical landmark in the area forming part of the Belfast to Dublin railway line, carrying it over the A25 Camlough Road. It will not be directly affected by the road scheme.
Site 14 measured c. 60m by 300m in area and incorporated fourteen areas of investigation. The predominant archaeology uncovered was post-medieval in date and consisted of drainage features, two possible structural footings constructed from granite slabs and a cobbled roadway. There were also several possible prehistoric pits, some of which showed evidence of burning. The areas of investigation within Site 14 were allocated letters A to N to facilitate ease of discussion.
Area A was the most northerly of the fourteen areas investigated and lay on undulating well-drained subsoil with occasional rocky outcrops. Measuring 3m by 5m, its archaeology comprised one isolated pit. No finds were retrieved.
Area B was located 20m to the south of Area A; this area measured 4m by 5m and comprised two pits c. 1m apart. No finds were retrieved from this area.
Area C lay 30m east of Area B; this area measured 8m by 9m and comprised a post-medieval furrow and four sherds of probable 19th-century pottery as well as a fragment of green glass.
Area D measured 5m by 5m and the features excavated were three post-medieval furrows/drainage features and a singular pit. No finds were retrieved.
Area E was located along the eastern edge of the road-strip, measured 5m by 6m and comprised one large pit. This pit measured 1.75m by 3m with a depth of 0.4m and was orientated generally north to south. No finds were retrieved.
Area F was situated c. 20m south-west of Area E and the area investigated measured 6m by 7m in plan. The archaeology consisted of one isolated pit cut into subsoil in the vicinity of a rock outcrop. No finds were retrieved.
Area G was located c. 10m north of Area D along the western side of the road-strip and measured 5m by 6m. The archaeology consisted of a subcircular pit and an oval pit. No finds were retrieved from either pit.
Area H stretched between Areas G and B and measured c. 20m by 20m. The archaeology in this area consisted of post-medieval drainage features, including a large possible soak-away measuring 15m in length within the limit of excavation with a width of 5m and a depth of 0.45m. The soak-away was filled with rounded stones of various diameters and occasional pockets of dark-greyish-brown sandy silt. There were also two parallel north-west to south-east areas of paving measuring 1.8m by 5m and 1m by 4.5m, made up of squared slabs of granite. These may have been footings for a small post-medieval structure, but there were no features joining the two linear paved areas to complete a building footprint. There were two curvilinear features to the south-west of these possible footings, which may have functioned as gullies as they led to the large soak-away which ran perpendicular to the paved linear features.
Area I was situated c. 50m east of Area H and consisted entirely of post-medieval contexts. The area investigated measured 13m by 14m and the archaeology was made up of what can best be described as an area of paving or a rough cobbled surface. The slabs and rounded stones were laid across an area of bedrock in such a way that a relatively level surface was achieved. The surface was orientated in a south-west to north-east direction with a slight curve towards the western extent of the area. The surface measured c. 15m within the limits of excavation, with a maximum width of 8m. The depth varied in relation to the crevices along the bedrock but the maximum depth was 0.34m.
Area J was located 20m north-east of Area M and measured 5m by 10m. The archaeology consisted of four pits and three post-medieval linear features. There was no apparent structural arrangement of the pits.
Area K lay along the western edge of the site c. 50m north of Area L and measured 13m by 30m. The archaeology investigated consisted of predominantly post-medieval drainage features with a series of pits with unknown use in the vicinity. All the drainage features led to a large stone soak-away. The drainage feature had an elaborate structure made up of two coursed walls with large lintels arranged along its length between these two walls. On first uncovering this feature it was surmised that it may have been a souterrain; however, further investigation proved it to be an elaborate post-medieval drain. The lintels may have functioned as a means of easy access to the drain for maintenance. There were similar drains observed in the vicinity, such as that in Area L and also on Site 16 (see No. 62 below).
Area L was located in the south-western corner of the site and was situated close to the western edge of the road-strip. The area investigated measured 10m by 10m and two post-medieval linear drainage features were investigated.
Area M was located c. 30m north of Area N and measured 12m by 25m. The archaeology consisted of five pits and one large central pit, which was cut by a post-medieval field boundary. There was no apparent structural arrangement but these pits were concentrated around a slightly raised area of bedrock.
The large irregular-shaped central pit measured 5m by 7.5m in plan and 0.35m deep and was truncated by a north-east to south-west-orientated post-medieval field boundary. One piece of slag was found during the clean-up of this area.
Area N was located close to the south-east corner of Site 14 and comprised three intercutting post-medieval drains.