County: Derry Site name: Roselick More
Sites and Monuments Record No.: LDY003–012 Licence number: AE/08/63
Author: David McIlreavy, Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University, Belfast, BT7 1NN.
Site type: Souterrain and stone-built associated structures
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 684801m, N 938127m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 55.183132, -6.668519
An archaeological evaluation was carried out in advance of development at the site of a possible early medieval graveyard and graveyard at 9 Roselick Road, Roselick More, Portstewart, Co. Londonderry. The site is recorded in the OS Memoirs as that of a possible graveyard and medieval church site. The evaluation uncovered a disturbed section of a souterrain feature and associated stone-built structures within the proposed development footprint, however the features had been truncated by a series of activities culminating in a 19th-century clearance episode associated with the farmhouse structure extant on-site.
An excavation was pursued in advance of the proposed development to record the truncated features indicated in the evaluation. The proposed development footprint was mechanically excavated under supervision through a number of modern levelling deposits until the truncated archaeological features were uncovered. Subsequently all structures were excavated manually.
The excavation recorded a short section (c. 3m) of disturbed souterrain passageway, considered to be an entrance. The underground section of the souterrain had been constructed in an earth-cut trench (maximum depth 0.65m) consisting of a wider entranceway, and a ‘creep’ area that extended outside the development footprint. A possible relict surface layer of yellow clay was uncovered in the entrance section of the souterrain, partially covered by a black loam deposit that contained charred seeds and 30 sherds of souterrain ware pottery. Preliminary post-excavation work has indicated that the charred seed remains contain some cereal remains. A sample was also recovered from the packing material between the drystone wall construction of the souterrain feature and the cut for the structure, which also produced charred seeds and a sherd of souterrain ware pottery.
The souterrain structure entrance chamber may have been visible above ground, as the excavation uncovered the truncated remains of a small drystone wall were noted surrounding the entrance way. The relict yellow clay surface noted in the entranceway of the souterrain extended above ground to the east of the feature, abutting two drystone revetment walls, one of which acted as a revetment feature. The second drystone wall, located between the souterrain feature and the drystone revetment noted above, are considered to represent a subcircular enclosure c. 4m in diameter, with an entrance aligned with that proposed for the souterrain.
Underlying the drystone revetment feature two sections (maximum 1.5m in length, 0.15m in depth) of curvilinear slot-trench were uncovered, which contained remains of charred seeds and probable metalworking slag.
