2017:456 - A4, Enniskillen By Pass, Area A (Mullylogan, Gortadrehid Little, Gortadrehid Big), Fermanagh

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken prior to the construction of a new 2.1 km stretch of road to the south of Enniskillen to link the A509 Derrylin Road with the A4 Dublin Road. The scheme is broadly aligned east-west, and crosses the River Erne to the east, and the Sillees River to the west.
Strip area A consisted of an area of 1,907 sq. m. in Field 2 of the geophysical evaluation which identified a number of anomalies (see plate). All topsoil removal within Area A was carried out by a mechanical digger fitted with a toothless bucket.
A single layer of topsoil was removed. It ranged in depth from 0.1-0.25m across the area. This topsoil was a grey-brown silty clay loam. It sealed the naturally occurring subsoil, which was an orange-grey clay. Much of the area excavated was covered by modern plough furrows, orientated north-south, owing to the thin cultivation soil (see plate). There were numerous modern stone-lined drains throughout the area, with a variety of orientations.
Across the middle of the area excavated were the remains of an old ditch, which is visible as a field boundary on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map, extending across the trench north-west/south-east. This field boundary is not shown on the earlier 1st edition.
Nothing of archaeological significance was identified within Area A.

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