County: Down Site name: A1 Scheme 1, Newry, Carnmeen – Site 4
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/07/172, AE/08/20, AE/08/107
Author: Patricia Ryan and Lynsey Morton, for ADS Ltd, Unit 6, 21 Old Channel Road, Belfast, BT3 9DE.
Site type: Pits
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 709477m, N 831455m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.220277, -6.321263
This site was investigated during the construction of the new A1 Newry bypass. The route of the road runs from Beech Hill to Cloghogue, on the outskirts of Newry town, Co. Down. Site 4 is located to the immediate east of the main A1 Belfast to Newry road, in the area between Chainage 06300 and 8500. A farm building and barns lay to the east of the site with fields situated to the south of the site.
All monitoring and cleaning was carried out under licence AE/07/172 and excavation work was conducted under licence AE/08/20 and AE/08/107.
The pattern of cultural history for the region shows there has been intensive occupation right through from early times, with known archaeological sites ranging from the Neolithic to mills which remained in use until only 100 years ago. Within Carnmeen townland there are a total of eight sites in the NISMR. Five of these are standing stones, two are sites identified from aerial photographs and the last is the Newry Canal.
The site consists of five main areas. Area 1 consisted of a possible hearth with an irregular charcoal-rich pit with burnt material associated with it. Area 2 consisted of a small charcoal-rich pit with another small shallow pit 1.5m to the east. It also included a larger pit containing a modern pipe and a field boundary running north-west to south-east. Area 3 consisted of three similar shallow pits. The remaining features are agricultural, two furrows running north to south across the area. Area 4 consisted of one shallow pit. Area 5 was the main area of archaeology which included ten small pits and post-holes with single fills and three medium-sized pits with single fills. There were also a medium pit with four fills and a large, slightly curvilinear pit also with four fills. The rest of the features seem to be associated with modern agricultural activity and included three linear spreads, two modern pits, four drains and two furrows running north to south across the site. There was also a modern animal burial however this was not excavated due to health and safety issues.
