County: Down Site name: CARNMEEN AND LISDUFF
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/09/136
Author: Warren Bailie, Archaeological Development Services Ltd, Unit 6, 21 Old Channel Road, Belfast, BT3 9DE.
Site type: Bronze Age landscape including cremations and enclosure
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 663858m, N 783512m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.797246, -7.030704
The proposed development site consists of two fields which lie to the north of the Carnbane Industrial Estate, Newry, Co. Armagh. There are 28 archaeological sites within a 1.5km radius of the proposed development, one of which lies within the
actual site boundary (DOW046–026), an enclosure identified from an aerial photograph.
The proposed development is located within the townlands of Carnmeen and Lisduff, through which runs the soon to be completed A1 Newry bypass. Monitoring of topsoil removal and subsequent
excavation was carried out in relation to the
construction of the DBFO A1 Newry bypass in 2007
and 2008 by ADS Ltd. This monitoring revealed a
wealth of previously unrecorded sites, including a
large number in the townland of Carnmeen and some
in Lisduff, including a number of burnt mounds and
associated troughs, a stone-built corn kiln, a rath, four
ring-ditches and a prehistoric funerary site (see
Excavations 2008 for reports).
The site is dominated by four ridges of higher
ground which run approximately north–south across
the fields. Evaluated via a series of 43 test-trenches,
each 2m wide and totalling 5.3km in length, the site
revealed a total of 262 features. Of these features, 60
were of archaeological potential, the remaining being
of post-medieval or modern agricultural origin. It was
noted that in general the areas of archaeological
potential lay along the spine and upper slopes of the
ridges of higher ground. Two areas appear to be
archaeologically sterile – one in low-lying ground in
the north-west of the eastern field and the second in
an area of previously disturbed ground to the south
of the western field.
The archaeological deposits include a spread of
possible burnt-mound material and a 25m diameter
subcircular ring-ditch from which sherds of
prehistoric pottery were noted in its upper fill. There
were also three smaller 5–6m-diameter circular
ditches or structures and a group of six cremation pits,
two of which lie within one of the smaller ring-ditches.
The remaining areas of archaeological potential
are scattered across the evaluated area with no
apparent pattern, although, with the trenches being
some 35–65m apart, identifying a pattern here would
be very difficult. One of these apparently isolated
features produced a small sherd of prehistoric
pottery.
The evidence collated from the test-trenches
showed the presence of an extensive archaeological
landscape lying along the ridges of higher ground.
The nature of the deposits and finds indicates
funerary and possible settlement activity, most likely
dating to the Bronze Age period, 1500–500 BC.
