2012:184 - Struell Wells, Struell, Down

A geophysical survey (earth resistance) and a four-week archaeological excavation were undertaken at the complex of wells and bathhouses at Struell Wells, Downpatrick, Co. Down over May and June, 2012. The research excavation was run as a training dig for undergraduate students from Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and followed on from extensive historical research undertaken on the site by McCormick (2009). Four trenches were opened - two inside the ruins of the church (both approx. 6m x 3m) and one on either side of the main well and probable original well at the site, the Drinking Well (each 5m x 5m). In the trench at the western end of the church (Trench 4) the partial remains of articulated skeletons were uncovered. The skeletal remains overlay a ‘burnt mound’ type deposit comprising heat-shattered and reddened stones and charcoal. No finds were recovered from either of these two layers and their dating awaits radiocarbon analysis. The discovery of this burnt mound material (from saunas or sweat-bathing?) stratified immediately below the burials, which are orientated east-west and presumably Christian, strongly supports the contention that the site has pre-Christian origins.

Overlying the skeletons and extending across the site was a built-up stony deposit, containing fragments of creamware and other post-medieval pottery. This was laid down before the church, now in ruins, was built, presumably to provide firmer footings and dryer ground for construction. The construction of the church is not precisely dated but is thought to be mid-18th century in date. Analysis of the finds from this horizon should provide a terminus post quem for its construction. Above this stony layer in Trench 2 (north of the Drinking Well) was a roughly metalled roadway leading across the stream which was contemporary with the 19th-century settlement at Struell. In the fourth trench (Trench 3) south of the Drinking Well a stone-built drain, extending southwards from the well, was uncovered. The drain had been pointed with concrete internally and the ground to the west of it was disturbed and loose and contained modern rubbish. This intrusive work dates to the 20th century when the site came under State Care and files held by the NIEA indicate on-going problems with drainage at the site. The four trenches were back-filled and sods reinstated on completion of the excavation. The main finds were coins and fragments of drainpipes - all modern. A selection of post-medieval ceramics was recovered from the four trenches, along with fragments of glass, some slate, quartz, rosary beads (modern), clay-pipe stems and a small assemblage of Souterrain Ware principally from Trench 1 inside the church.

Reference

McCormick, F. 2009 Struell Wells: pagan past and Christian present. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 139, 45-62.

School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 1NN