2012:579 - GREENCASTLE QUARRY (PHASE 2A), Cashel, Tyrone

This development was for the extension of Greencastle Quarry. Extensive test trenches were placed across the quarry 20m apart. During this process possible archaeological features were uncovered, leading to the excavation of these areas.
The excavation uncovered a small, poorly built structure which has been badly damaged by more recent agricultural activities. The pottery recovered from the gullies indicated that the building went out of use between the 17th and 19th centuries. However, as the structure does not appear on the 1st edition OS map it is probably an 18th-century farm building which was demolished or decayed prior to the first edition map being produced. Given the lack of building rubble it may have been a turf-built building. Water management would have been important given the slope of the hill to the west and south-west of the building (now considered a flood plain), probably the reason for ditch that surrounded the feature. The ditch measured 32m in length and ranged in width from 0.4-1.8m. The structure consisted of a western wall (7m x 0.35m x 0.1m deep), and a northern and eastern wall (13m x 0.28m – 0.47m x up to 0.24m in depth). Glazed red earthenware was recovered from the fill. The southern part of the structure had been badly disturbed by agricultural features which crossed the site. The structure was a minimum of 10.25m long by 3m wide with a gap at the northern end in the western wall 2.8m wide. The building was orientated north-west to south-east and within was a single circular stake-hole 0.07m in diameter and 0.14m deep.

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