2011:123 - BRACKFIELD FARM, BRACKFIELD, Derry

Monitoring of groundworks for a proposed extension to an existing dwelling at Brackfield Farm, 268 Glenshane Road, Killaloo, was carried out on 1 April 2011. The property is located 0.07km to the north-west of Brackfield Bawn, LDY023-014, a 17th-century Plantation settlement. An excavation at the bawn undertaken by Nick Brannon in 1983 revealed not only 17th-century settlement but also earlier, prehistoric activity on the site; a small pit containing a sherd of Bronze Age pottery with associated possible human cremated bone and c. 40% of a Bronze Age vessel were uncovered during the excavations. Within the farmyard complex of 268 Glenshane Road, towards the north-western boundary, are the remains of a kiln, IHR01810:000, which is depicted on the 3rd-edition OS map.

Removal of the concrete slab revealed a layer of overburden, mid-brown clayey silt with frequent small to medium-sized stones. Within this layer were moderate-sized broken brick and slate, occasional 19th–20th-century pottery sherds, occasional metal and plastic inclusions, and occasional broken ceramic drain fragments. Beneath the overburden lay the natural subsoil, a creamy/orangey yellow silty sand with occasional clay and frequent small to medium-sized stones, occasional outcroppings of stone (shale) and frequent degraded stone. Cut into the subsoil was a Y-shaped drain, which extended from the northern edge of the cutting in a south-westerly direction and was traced for 7.9m within the development area. The flat-bottomed drain was linear in plan with straight sides, and measured 0.65m wide and 0.26m deep. Each side was lined with two courses of cut stone, rectangular in shape and measuring on average 0.19m by 0.15m by 0.03m thick. A mid-brown sandy silt, containing occasional small stones and 19th- to 20th-century pottery sherds, filled the interior of the drain, which was capped with large flat stones measuring on average 0.77m by 0.51m by 0.06m thick. In the south-east corner of the area there was a natural outcrop of shale which displayed some evidence of localised quarrying. The size of blocks cut from this outcrop appears to match the stone blocks used in the construction of an adjacent old farmhouse building, and it would therefore be reasonable to assume that the stone utilised in the farmhouse was quarried on site.

No further features or deposits of archaeological significance were uncovered during monitoring of groundworks on the site.

12 Ardenlee Road, Downpatrick, Co. Down