County: Derry Site name: St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Dungiven
Sites and Monuments Record No.: Vicinity of LDY025-004 Licence number: AE/13/94E
Author: Sapphire Mussen
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 669407m, N 908419m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.918672, -6.917388
An archaeological evaluation was carried out on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency at the site of a proposed extension to the graveyard of St Patrick’s Church in Dungiven in May 2013. Four test trenches covering a total area of approximately 0.0126ha were excavated. The site is used as grazing pasture for livestock and is situated adjacent to, and south of, the existing church graveyard. Work was carried out in the western half of the site as the eastern half was evaluated at an earlier date (3 May 2012?). No finds or features of archaeological significance were uncovered during the course of the 2012 evaluation.
During the 2013 evaluation, evidence of successive phases of cultivation was uncovered. All artefact material dates to the 19th century or later. A number of potential post-holes were revealed but due to the extent of rabbit burrowing and root activity at the site, definition is uncertain. Lack of artefact material, charcoal, associated features and other evidence suggests they may be the remains of disused animal burrows. It is not thought that extension of the graveyard will impact on previously unrecognised and unrecorded archaeological remains and therefore not recommended that further evaluation work is carried out at the site. However the western corner of the site (which forms the base of slope of a nearby barrow (LDY025-004)) may merit some surveillance and further investigation. This is also adjacent to the area in which the potential post-holes were sited.
Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast
