2012:675 - Drumclay/Knockalough/Moneynoe Glebe/Chanterhill, Fermanagh

The terrain along the proposed Cherrymount Link Road, north-east of Enniskillen, consists of a series of low-lying riverine areas with a steeply sloping ridge extending north-west/south-east, at the portion of the scheme located east of Drumclay Park North as far as Chanterhill Road. Immediately south of the ridge is a drained lough, now occupied by bogland, within which was reported to be a possible crannog; due to the nature of the surrounding terrain, no site visit had ever been possible. A logboat was also reported to have been discovered in the lough; its whereabouts are unknown.

A metalled path had been laid across the bogland for engineering test purposes, which had identified the depth of the bog to be up to 10m; a subsequent site visit in December 2010 found the area to be completely frozen over and, with the metalled path still extant, this permitted safe access. It was possible to identify a raised area in the centre of the bog but, due to the frozen conditions, it was difficult to define its extent either visually or by selective probing. It was agreed with NIEA: Built Heritage to undertake a trial excavation to determine the archaeological nature of the site.

The investigation was carried out in January and February 2011 and consisted of a trial trench, 5m x 5m, to the west of the metalled path and close to the centre of the raised area; it was excavated to a maximum depth of 0.65m which brought the trench below the water level within the bog. The stratigraphy consisted of a numerous discrete organic deposits, mainly fibrous material (grasses, reeds, straw) with occasional areas of branches and twigs, as well as small spreads of clay and isolated stones; the entire trench was penetrated by the roots of the bogland vegetation.

At the north-east corner of the trench was the edge of a possible crude hearth, consisting of rough stones surrounded by spreads of charcoal and ash. Considerable quantities of pottery, identified as Everted-Rim and Crannog wares, were discovered throughout the trench, including the remains of a shattered but largely complete pot adjacent to the north section. At the lowest accessible level an irregular arrangement of uprights, 0.02-0.12m in diameter, was revealed in the east of the trench, i.e. close to the centre of the site.

It was determined from the results of the investigation that the raised area was a crannog, largely composed of deposits of grasses, straw and reeds consolidated by series of uprights, with occasional deposits of brushwood, spreads of clay and isolated stones. The pottery identified it as Late Medieval, and the crude nature of the hearth and lack of any notable structure suggested that it was not a consistently utilised site; the low height above the water level could also indicate that this is the only occupation phase. Given the depth of the bog and, presumably, the crannog, however, there would appear to have been a significant effort in labour and materials to construct the monument for little apparent utilisation if that were the case. Also, the water level is reputed to have varied, which could indicate that a greater depth of the crannog was accessible in the past; though the records indicate that it was reduced rather than increased, this only applies to levels identified since the mid-19^th century.

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