County: Armagh Site name: Tynan
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/11/89
Author: Naomi Carver
Site type: Disarticulated human bone
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 676439m, N 842811m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.328283, -6.824840
An archaeological excavation was carried out at Dartanree Road, Tynan, between 2 and 8 August 2011 following the discovery in July 2011 of skeletal human remains by contractors laying storm drains on behalf of Northern Ireland Water Ltd.
The principal objective of the excavation was to excavate the remains and record any deposits stratigraphically related to them. A further objective was to excavate and record—if present—any other in situ remains, including articulated burials. The excavation comprised a single trench opened across the storm drain and measuring 2m by 2.5m (north-east/south-west by north-west/south-east). The excavation trench was subdivided into north-west and south-east sides where it straddled the pipe trench. Excavation was carried out partly by hand and partly using a mechanical excavator, where appropriate, to remove the overburden.
Most of the human bones were confined to the north-western side of the trench and were found at varying depths. Skeletal remains were also recovered from the south-eastern side. On completion of the excavation a number of tip-lines were visible in the north-west- and south-east-facing sections. The human bone was mixed through these layers and did not appear to be confined to any one layer in particular, although larger quantities of bone were recovered from higher up in the sequence.
The investigations at Tynan revealed a series of tip-line deposits, some of which contained human bone. The deposits pre-date the construction of the Dartanree Road and have been tentatively dated, by association, to the 18th or 19th century owing to the discovery of a copper-alloy mount, possibly part of a coffin mount, in the south-east-facing section of the pipe trench. Cartographic evidence supports this, as the Dartanree Road is shown on the earliest OS 6in. map of the area, dating from 1834. The road is also shown on the 1860 revision, having been lengthened and improved. It can therefore be inferred that the human remains were buried prior to 1860, and possibly prior to 1834. A plausible explanation for the presence of the human remains is that they are the result of clearance from a nearby graveyard, such as the one adjoining St Vindic’s Church of Ireland church to the north-east. It is possible that the bone was removed from graves and reburied in an unmarked part of the graveyard before the soil in which they were contained was used to create a raised platform with a level surface for the construction of the road.
The skeletal remains have been examined by Rebecca Crozier of Queen’s University, Belfast, who found the assemblage to consist of 1,626 fragments representing at least 60 individuals.
A sample of bone has been submitted for radiocarbon dating and on receipt of the result a note on the excavation will be prepared for inclusion in the Ulster Journal of Archaeology or another relevant publication.
Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University, Belfast BT7 1NN
