2011:131 - Dungiven Household Recycling Centre, Dungiven, Derry

Test trenching took place on this site, based on the positions of proposed invasive groundworks, topographical considerations and practicality. The trenches were c. 1.5m wide (or the width of a wide mechanical excavator bucket) and were excavated until the glacial subsoil surface was reached. The material overlying the subsoil was between 0.2m and 1.5m deep. At the top and bottom of the slope the material was a mixture of rubble, rubbish and redeposited subsoil, while on the slope was a layer of topsoil 0.2m deep.

Only one possible feature was noted running across the site: a shallow gully or drainage channel running 0.5m from the top of the slope, noted in Trenches 2–6. It measured a minimum of 40m in length, 0.25–0.5m in width and 0.2m in depth, running south-east to north-west. The cut narrowed to the north-west but the depth remained consistent. No artefacts were recovered from within the fill, although a lot of modern rubbish was overlying it and pushed into the top of it. It is likely that the feature was damaged during modern construction on the site, if not in fact related to the construction itself. Given the modern works that have occurred on the site and the lack of artefacts from the fill, it was impossible to date the feature; it would appear, however, to be relatively modern in nature and cannot be considered to be archaeologically significant.

Northern Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, Farset Enterprise Park, 638 Springfield Road, Belfast BT12 7DY