2014:462 - Cranfield, Down

The site was located outside the village of Cranfield, Co. Down. In the field adjacent to the development site was a scheduled mound (DOW 057: 008), thought to be early medieval in date. In 2012, test-trenching was carried out which identified two linear features of unknown date, with the archaeologist recommending that further excavation should be carried out prior to construction on the site. Therefore in 2014 the footprint of the development (725m2) was mechanically excavated and the two linear features were identified and investigated. The linear cuts, aligned east-west and located 7m apart, were between 0.7-0.9m wide, 0.3m deep and contained fragments of 19th- and 20th-century pottery. The excavation showed that the linear features were most likely associated with an old dwelling that has now been demolished and represented agricultural improvement in the area. No earlier artefactual evidence associated with the medieval activity in the vicinity was uncovered. The monitoring of the development footprint completed the archaeological mitigation on the site.

Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University, Belfast, BT7 INN