2008:331 - A1 Scheme 1, Newry, Corcreeghy – Site 8, Down

This site was uncovered during topsoil monitoring in advance of the construction of a new bypass around Newry, Co. Down/Armagh (A1 Scheme 1). The initial clean-up of the site took place under licence AE/08/22. The excavations took place on 2–27 June 2008 under licence AE/08/106. The site was located c. 4km north-north-east of the city of Newry. The stripped area lay along the west side of the present day A1 road leading from Newry to Belfast. This area incorporated under the licence for this site stretched for 1.5km and varied in width from 100m in the south to 25m in the north of the site.
Five burnt mounds (fulachta fiadh) were discovered, each with variations in composition and layout. Four lay below alluvial material and were situated within 20–30m of each other along a south to north transect. These four mounds lay on top of a wood- and detritus-rich peat formation which underlay the alluvium. The fifth mound lay 1km further north. The reason for a concentration of burnt mounds in this particular area is probably the fact that this site lies along a substantial flood-plain. This is immediately evident when observing the terrain on the OS map. The otherwise undulating drumlin landscape in this area is interrupted by a flat low flood-plain associated with the Newry River and its tributaries. Burnt mounds tend to locate close to water sources for use in the cooking process thought to take place on such sites; i.e. boiling water with the use of heated stones.
Immediately west of the accumulation of peat and alluvium, the land gradually sloped upwards, to c. 5m higher than the peat level. It was at this higher level that three possible structures were found. The most southerly of these involved 40 stake-holes forming an irregular oval pattern with peripheral features following the same pattern. There was an internal hearth, and flint tools and prehistoric pottery were retrieved during excavation. The second of these areas did not have such a regimented structure but there were a series of pits and post-holes which produced worked flint tools. The most northerly of the settlement areas was composed of an oval pattern of pits/post-holes with an external hearth. There were a number of pieces of worked flint as well as areas where debitage lay in situ.
The ritual activity took the form of two separate cremations. The first of these was an isolated feature with no pottery or flint finds. The second cremation was set into a small stone cairn, central to a ring-ditch, towards the northern extremity of the site.