2008:810 - Aghnaskeagh 6, Louth

Louth County Council, the Roads Service NI (Department for Regional Development) and the National Roads Authority are currently proposing a road scheme, the A1/N1 Newry–Dundalk road. The route consists of 14.2km of 2-lane dual carriageway with 5.7km of associated link roads from Cloghoge roundabout, south of Newry, to the Ballymascanlan interchange, north of Dundalk. As part of the road development, a number of archaeological and historic sites within the construction zone of the road scheme were determined eligible for excavation before the construction began.
Site 120 was discovered during the test excavations, which revealed two features along the northern limits of Area 13 that required further investigation. Excavations revealed c. 320 features, including 26 agricultural furrows and 19 post-medieval or modern pits. Many of the features found to be archaeological were visible as obvious charcoal-rich deposits, although the majority were only discovered after the site, which extended over an area measuring 150m north to south by 60m, was manually cleaned back. It would appear that the vast majority of the features have been truncated by later agricultural activity. The southern portion of the site was excavated in an area not tested in Phase 1 due to problems with access.
The site was clearly part of a larger area of activity on a low knoll overlooking adjacent wetland. The pitting and post-holes clearly showed an area of extensive Neolithic–Bronze Age settlement with a localised area for cremation burials. One building appeared to be of the Neolithic slot-trench rectangular type, 7.5m by 5.5m. Other buildings were not clearly defined but appeared to be circular, of a Bronze Age post-hole-based type. A secure chronology of the site will not be possible until post-excavation analysis of finds and samples has been undertaken.

Editor’s note: This report arrived too late for inclusion in the bulletin for 2005, when the work took place.