County: Armagh Site name: Unshinagh
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/10/102
Author: Warren Bailie and Eoin Halpin, Archaeological Development Services Ltd, Unit 6, 21 Old Channel Road, Belfast, BT3 9DE.
Site type: Pits
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 702049m, N 849272m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.381845, -6.429038
The archaeological deposits investigated under this licence were uncovered during the construction of a 12.5km gas pipeline by Bord Gáis Éireann (NI), running between Kernan, near Gilford in County Down, and the townland of Derryhale in County Armagh. The topsoil-stripping was monitored by ADS Ltd between 29 April and 19 May 2010. The 24m-wide pipeline corridor crossed a total of twelve townlands, eleven of which revealed archaeological deposits; this bulletin summarises the archaeological investigations carried out over approximately 1km of the pipeline in the townland of Unshinagh. These investigations took place between 4 and 9 June 2010.
The seven isolated groups of pits as well as extensive post-medieval drainage features were uncovered during the topsoil-stripping of the pipeline corridor in this townland. None of the pit groups showed any structural arrangement, diagnostic characteristics or dating evidence to allow further interpretation. Four of these areas of archaeology were within 100–200m of a rath site (AE/10/100, see No. 59 above) also excavated during the construction of this gas pipeline.
