County: Armagh Site name: Tievecrom, Forkill
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: AE/19/011
Author: Eoin Halpin
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 702888m, N 814012m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.064960, -6.428214
It is proposed to construct a detached domestic dwelling on the site, with associated access and services. The site, which extends to roughly 0.13ha, is located in the north-west corner of an agricultural field, some 2.2km south-east of the village of Forkill, Co. Armagh. The site of a rath, ARM032:016, is located some 60m to the south-east at its nearest, with an existing relatively modern dwelling located between the rath and the proposed development site.
In response to the HED planning conditions a programme of archaeological works was agreed - to test the development area via a series of three, 1.5m wide, machine-dug test trenches, each to be some 30m in length and set 10m apart, so as to cover the entire footprint of the development site. This testing was undertaken on 25 February 2019.
Trench 1 was located 5m from and running parallel to the northern boundary of the site. It was 28m in length, with the exposed subsoil consisting of a stony orange brown gritty clay loam. The natural was overlain by 0.3m of dark yellow brown, relatively stone-free clay loam. Trench 2 was located 10m to the south of T1 and running parallel to it. It was 30m in length, with the exposed subsoil consisting of a stony orange brown gritty clay loam. The natural was overlain by between 0.4m and 0.5m of dark yellow brown, relatively stone-free clay loam. Trench 3 was located 10m to the south of T2 and running parallel to it. It was 32m in length, with the exposed subsoil consisting of a stony orange brown gritty clay loam. The natural was overlain by 0.4m of dark yellow brown, relatively stone-free clay loam. Some 10m from the west end of this trench a large earth-fast boulder was uncovered, the upper surface of which was immediately below the turf line. The presence of this boulder would suggest that the field has not been the subject of extensive ploughing in the recent past.
Nothing of archaeological significance was noted in any of the test trenches.
AHC Ltd, 36 Ballywillwill Road, Castlewellan, Co. Down BT31 9LF
