2008:1215 - Former Omagh General Hospital, Woodside Avenue, Omagh, Tyrone

The redevelopment of the former Omagh General Hospital will involve the demolition of the hospital as well as car parking and landscaping. Much of the existing complex will be replaced by a new children’s respite care facility, an associated play area and some landscaping. The childcare facility at present on-site will be retained. The associated play area will be constructed on the current surface and will not entail any ground disturbance.
The site is located within an archaeologically sensitive landscape, with seven known sites within a 2km radius. The most notable of these are the O’Neill castle (TYR035–019), a Franciscan friary founded in 1464 on the site of an earlier Columban monastery (TYR035–021) and the historic settlement of Omagh (TYR035–016) itself, founded when the Columban monastery was built in 792 ad. The proposed development lies within the townland of Lisnamallard. The name of this townland denotes that an Early Christian period rath was located within the townland. The fact that the townland was named after this settlement suggests that the rath was a prominent site. The location of this site is unknown but there is the possibility that the rath (or indeed other archaeological features) could be located within the proposed development site.
The hospital was originally built in conjunction with the union workhouse during the time of the Great Famine in the 1840s. The hospital cared for fever patients and later specialised in infectious diseases. An associated burial-ground was shown on cartographic sources and burials were uncovered during monitoring by Brian Sloan of the construction of an after-schools facility in 2007 (Excavations 2007, No. 1786, AE/07/29). Client information has identified the grassed area to the immediate west of the proposed development as a burial-ground. A subsequent geophysical survey revealed evidence of anomalies both within this area and the tarmac area of the proposed development.
Two trenches were excavated on 2 July 2008 to determine the nature of the anomalies. Trench 1 was located within the area fenced off from the present carpark, slightly south-west of the footprint of the former hospital. Trench 2 was located within the area of the present carpark, south of Trench 1.
Trench 1 measured 5m by 2.8m by 0.9m in depth and targeted a trench-shaped anomaly (potential grave-cut) and two additional points of anomalies. Clean light-greyish-beige natural sandy silt with occasional stones was encountered at 0.9m below present ground level. The natural deposits were sealed by a 0.4m-thick layer of peaty garden/
ploughsoil. A stone-filled land drain, running lengthwise across the trench, had been cut through this layer. The location of the drain matched the surveyed anomaly. The peaty layer and later stone-filled drain were sealed by a 0.4m-thick layer of modern hardcore, crushed stone and a 0.1m-thick slab of tarmac. No archaeological cut features or potential graves were encountered in Trench 1.
Trench 2 measured 5m by 2.3m by 2m maximum depth and targeted an anomaly in the carpark area. Extensive ground disturbance and truncation was encountered in Trench 2. A substantial layer of redeposited peat with lenses of silty sand was recorded at 0.7m below present ground level, below a dark layer of industrial material, clinker in a sandy matrix. The 0.3m-thick clinker layer was sealed with modern crushed-stone hardcore and tarmac slab. The disturbed mixed peaty deposit contained many roots and a particularly large root was encountered at 1.4m below present ground level, which could account for the surveyed anomaly. The disturbed peaty deposit was excavated as far as the machine bucket could reach, 2m below the present ground level. A couple of broken modern bricks were encountered at that depth. The bottom of the peat-filled truncation was not reached. No archaeological features, deposits or potential grave-cuts were observed.