2015:083 - Drumbeg Community Hall, Down

Drumbeg Parish Church proposed to build a new community hall in the townland of Drumbeg, County Down. The site is close to DOW009:049, the possible site of a medieval church now occupied by a protected structure (HB19/23/01), the Church of St Patrick’s built in 1870 and replacing an earlier church built in 1798. The medieval church of Drum is listed in the 1306 taxation and on the 2nd edition OS map. The modern church is shown to be located within an oval enclosure; this oval enclosure may represent the location of an early ecclesiastical site.
The site is also located close to the site of the old Ulster Dye Works and Corn Mill (IAR 2710). The 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions of the OS maps show the Ulster Dye Works and Corn Mill located on the south-western side of the Drumbeg to Ballyaghlis road and clearly show that the site of the proposed development’s southern field boundary marks the route of an associated old mill race.
Seven test trenches were excavated within the site of the proposed development on 4-5 June 2014. No features or deposits of an archaeological nature were identified. However, throughout Trenches 2 to 6 it was clearly evident that the majority of the site had been subject to relatively high levels of ground disturbance in the past. Because of the original sloping nature of the site, it appears that the site had been used as a land fill for building materials and vegetation, possibly as far back as the 1800s.
The lower part of the site, towards the eastern field boundary, contains a natural depression approximately 20-30m in diameter. Alarge amount of introduced material appears to have been deposited into it in attempts to level the site or reduce the severity of the slope of the depression. Because of this build-up of the natural undisturbed ground levels in much of the lower end of the site were not reached in the trenching. Therefore it is possible that within these areas, which may still have the potential to contain buried archaeological features and deposits, the original ground surfaces may be present at depth.
After consultation with the Department of the Environment (NIEA), it was recommended that further archaeological conditions be attached to any grant of permission. It was recommended that all ground works associated with the development be subject to monitoring.

Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit, Unit 21 Boyne Bussiness Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co Louth