2018:562 - Dungiven Gaelscoil, 145 Main Street, Dungiven, Derry

The proposed development lies in an archaeologically sensitive area within the immediate vicinity of a 17th-century fortified house and bawn, a scheduled monument LDY025:005, and the works lay within the area of archaeological potential associated with Dungiven.
Archaeological works took the form of two separate elements, the first was the hand investigation of the area within the scheduled monument, to the north of the site, in the vicinity of the bawn wall, where it was proposed to run a new water main through an existing doorway in the bawn wall. Here the overlying concrete was removed and the underlying clay deposits were hand excavated. These consisted of a hard compact mixture of yellow brown clay loams and pockets of sandy gravel. Pieces of plastic, lumps of concrete and modern 20th-century bottle glass were noted. Some 0.6m down a layer of yellow plastic was noted with ‘GAS’ written on it and 0.1m below this a gas main was uncovered. It was clear that this gas main ran through the doorway at a depth of between 0.6m and 0.7m.
Two further hand-dug test pits were excavated, the first along the base of the circular tower at the north-west corner of the site. Here the line of the gas main was picked up, again at a depth of c. 0.6m below present ground level. The third test pit was hand-excavated in the lawn to the west of the castle, close to the path running west from the main back door of the castle. Here the gas main was uncovered 0.7m below present ground level.
The proposed east-west running line of the proposed foul pipeline was also tested via the excavation of two further test pits. The first was excavated immediately south of the pathway leading from the back door of the castle. Here disturbed ground, containing plastic bottles and 20th-century glass, was noted to a depth of c.0.75m.
The final test pit was located at the southern end of the proposed pipeline route. Here disturbed ground, containing plastic and other pieces of 20th-century material, was noted to ma depth of 0.8m.

AHC Ltd, 36 Ballywillwill Road, Castlewellan, Co. Down BT31 9LF