2014:556 - 84-86 Main Street, Loughgall, Armagh

An archaeological evaluation was carried out ahead of proposed redevelopment works to the building at 84-86 Main Street, Loughgall. The site is located within the historic core of Loughgall 17th-century plantation settlement and immediately adjacent to the listed building Dispensary House (HB15/02/11).
Demolition of a modern extension was conducted in advance of the monitoring works. Following demolition of the extension, structural issues were identified within the remaining building which necessitated remedial works to prevent collapse. Upon completion of these works, the archaeological evaluation of the site was conducted.
Two test trenches were excavated using a back-acting machine fitted with a toothless bucket across the footprint of the proposed extension. A single layer was removed from each trench. This consisted of a mixed layer of demolition material and garden soil build-up and was a dark brown/grey plastic clay with frequent inclusions of building masonry. It had a maximum depth of 0.4m in Trench 1 and 0.6m in Trench 2 and in both cases directly overlay naturally occurring subsoil, which consisted of a sticky orange sandy clay.
No evidence of any archaeological features was identified within either of the trenches.

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