County: Derry Site name: Croaghan Quarry
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: AE/14/142
Author: Jonathan Barkley
Site type: Neolithic pits
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 679365m, N 925725m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 55.072638, -6.757305
This development was for the extension of a quarry; archaeological features and material have been uncovered during previous phases of the quarry’s expansion. Ten test trenches were placed across the part of the site required for the next phase of works. An archaeological feature and artefacts where found within two of the trenches.
Trench 2 contained a small sub-circular pit, which contained 46 sherds of Early Neolithic Carinated Bowl-style pottery and a two pieces of retouched flint, an Invasively Retouched Form (IRF) likely used as a knife and usually dating to the Neolithic (R. Bailey, pers comm.) and a cortical convex scraper with lateral retouch.
Trench 7 contained a small pit and a scatter of worked flint. Examination of the feature revealed it to be non-archaeological in nature, probably the result of agricultural activity or field clearance. Seven pieces of struck flint, including a rough convex scraper, were present within the trench. While undoubtedly prehistoric, and mostly flake-based hard-hammer percussion, such a small assemblage of flint could not be diagnostically linked to a specific period (R. Bailey, pers comm.)
NAC, Farset Enterprise Park, 638 Springfield Road, Belfast, BT12 7DY
