County: Armagh Site name: Mullan Road, Tynan
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: AE/19/076
Author: Eoin Halpin
Site type: Pit
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 676758m, N 840140m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.304240, -6.820623
It was proposed to construct a detached 2-storey domestic dwelling and detached garage on the site, with associated access and services. The site, which extends to roughly 0.3ha, is located in the north-west corner of an agricultural field, some 600m north-east of No. 37 Mullan, Road Tynan, Co Armagh. The site of a rath ARM015:038 was located across the road to the west. Testing took place on June 17 2019.
Nothing of archaeological significance was noted in any of the nine test trenches opened, apart from a pit feature along the eastern margins of the development site. An area of 10m by 10m was opened up around this feature which proved it to be isolated, with no further archaeological features or deposits in association.
The oval pit clearly contained evidence of burning in the form of heavily charcoal-stained and charcoal-flecked soils, particularly in its middle fill. However, it was noted that there was no evidence for either reddened oxidized soils or heat-cracked stone, suggesting that the feature’s primary function was not a fire pit or hearth.
The field has been the subject of intensive ploughing in the recent past (land owner, pers. comm.) with the boundary between the 0.4–0.5m depth of plough soil and the underlying natural clays clear and distinct. It is therefore probable that the pit has been severely plough-truncated and would originally have been larger and deeper. Given this fact, it is equally probable that any archaeological deposits which may once have been associated with this feature have in all likelihood been removed by agricultural practices, leaving the base of the pit as the only archaeological survival.
No finds were recovered from the pit to provide an indication of date or indeed function, however it was clear that the charcoal staining noted within the fills was not in situ, presumably originating from archaeological activity in the surrounding area, all evidence for which has been removed by plough activity.
AHC Ltd 36 Ballywillwill Road, Castlewellan Co Down BT31 9LF
