2008:1211 - Mullaghbane, area 26, Tyrone

Area 26 lies between Chainages 3780 and 3900, and covered an area measuring 120m by 30m. It was investigated as part of the proposed corridor improvements of the line of the A4 between Dungannon and Ballygawley where 15km of new road will be constructed. The closest listed recorded monuments are those of a prehistoric standing stone, a rath and an enclosure.
The main features investigated were the two burnt mounds identified during monitoring, one of which was found to comprise seven pits, two of which were substantial enough to have been troughs. The other burnt mound had two pits associated with it. Another area of activity on the site was a shallow depression filled by burnt-mound material, which contained some sherds of coarse pottery of prehistoric, possibly Bronze Age, date. Sealed by this deposit were a large number of stake-holes and at least two post-holes. A number of relatively modern features were also investigated, including two large field boundary ditches, some drainage channels and a number of plough furrows.
A spread of burnt-mound material at the south-western end of the site was overlying seven pits, two of which were of substantial enough size to be described as troughs. They both had a subrectangular shape whereas the other pits which were more oval or circular in shape and are likely to have been used as pot-boilers.
Another spread of burnt-mound material was found some 50m or so to the north. This deposit was lighter in colour and appeared to be more washed out than the other. It may have been located in closer proximity to the original stream which ran along the base of the slope. Associated with this were two pits, one of which was sealed by the burnt mound, the other lay to the west of it.
A shallow depression in the natural subsoil was filled by a deposit resembling burnt-mound material and consisting of fire-cracked stones and charcoal-blackened sandy silt. A number of sherds of coarse prehistoric pottery were retrieved from this deposit. This deposit sealed up to 35 stake-holes (some were outlying) and two post-holes and may have been a possible shelter.
The remains of a possible trough were uncovered at the base of a slope. The feature was badly truncated and much of what was probably a rectangular cut was gone. The fill was burnt-mound material (fire-cracked stone and charcoal-blackened deposit).
A number of outlying features were uncovered which had no obvious relationship to each other or the other main features. In all there were ten pits and five post-holes.