2017:831 - Gas to the West testing - Tyrone 2, Tyrone

A systematic archaeological testing programme was undertaken in the townlands of Carr, Drumhirk, Claremore, Tullyvernan, Tullybroom, Killyfaddy, Lungs, Timpany, Mullaghdaly and Kiltermon, County Tyrone between 17 July and 24 October 2017.
Archaeological material was uncovered at a small number of locations, as follows:

Field 70.01 (Carr)
One sherd of pottery (Bronze Age), one possible pit and two linear features (possible hand-dug cultivation furrows associated with a Ráth in same field) were identified in this field.

Field 72.01 (Tullybroom)
Small pits and possible hearths along with Bronze Age pottery, burnt bone fragments and flint artefacts were identified in this field. The archaeological features were found on the two ridges within this large field; nothing archaeological was found in trenches excavated in the valleys or slopes between the ridges.

Field 78.05 (Lungs)
One pit and one hearth were found close to where a possible prehistoric settlement had been identified during test trenching in 2015.

Field 79.14 (Timpany)
Two curving features (one of which may be a small ring-ditch) and a pit containing burnt bone were uncovered in Trench 4 and two charcoal patches were found in Trench 3.

Field 79.15 (Mullaghdaly)
A small pit containing charcoal and small fragments of cremated bone and a possible cist burial were identified at the east-north-east end of Trench 9. The cist burial consists of a capstone and possible side stones within a pit. It has been damaged, but cremated bone and two large sherds of Bronze Age coarse pottery were retrieved from cleaning the feature.

Field 81.04 (Kiltermon)
Two curvilinear features (undated, but not likely to be drains or cultivation furrows) were identified. Additionally, a small sherd of abraded pottery (possibly part of a beaker) was identified in the topsoil upcast from one of the trenches.

Field 81.05 (Kiltermon)
A number of linear features (some on examination appear to be modern field drains, though no dating evidence was recovered), one possible pit (pottery recovered from the surface cleaning of this feature may be Souterrain Ware), one possible post-hole and a large area containing a charcoal-rich spread were identified on the eastern half (close to the boundary with Field 81.04) of the field.

The archaeology identified during testing was subject to further archaeological works during later phases of the Gas to the West project.

John Cronin & Associates, Burnside, Saint Oran's Road, Buncrana, County Donegal