County: Donegal Site name: NEWTOWNCUNNINGHAM
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 08E1016
Author: Martin McGonigle, John Cronin & Associates, 28 Upper Main Street, Buncrana, Co. Donegal.
Site type: Testing
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 630895m, N 916389m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.994146, -7.517199
Testing was undertaken on the site of a proposed housing development at Newtowncunningham, Co.Donegal, on 12 March 2009. The site is located south of Main Street in Newtowncunningham village andthe N13, and to the west of Long Lane (road).A total of nine 2m-wide test-trenches of varying lengths comprising a total length of 2364m² were excavated across the landholding of 47452m². A topsoil-strip undertaken in December 2008 to facilitate the laying of drainage pipes and compound and access facilities provided evidence of linear drains containing modern ceramics and a series of plough furrows running parallel with the site boundaries.
A late 19th/early 20th-century brickworks site is depicted as ‘unused’ in the second-edition OS map for this area. No discernible features such as a pugmill, kilns, clamps or drying buildings were found during testing, however several broken red bricks were found incorporated into many of the field drains traversing the site, and two possible backfilled clay pits were observed in the test-trenches.
No features, finds or deposits of archaeological significance were identified in the test-trenches during testing.
