2019:080 - Drumbo, Down

The proposed development is within the area of archaeological potential associated with Drumbo, Co Down. Testing took place on 11 and 15 January 2019.
A total of 13 trenches were opened, all were similar, sloping gradually down from east to west, with a dark yellow brown, stone-free, loam clay topsoil, overlying the glacial till natural subsoil. The plough soil varied considerably being on average some 0.2m in depth to the east and a maximum of 0.6m towards the west.
The only features of interest were clearly agricultural in origin. Numerous stone-filled field drains crisscrossed the area, some of which were larger than others and were probably hand-dug, others were narrower and packed with similar sized stones, suggestive of the use of machinery in their construction.
One particularly wet patch of ground in the northern part of the development had standing water on the field surface at the time of the testing. The underlying topsoil and glacial till here were of a different character, with the topsoil slightly darker and humic rich and the underlying glacial till was softer, and a light grey, leached colour. Similar variations in the underlying glacial till were noted in many of the trenches, with the concentration of the field drains in areas of wet soft ground. A broad shallow linear feature was noted running south-east to north-west across the site. It was filled with a natural, yellow-brown stone-free silt clay, and is interpreted as the remains of a natural palaeo-channel. Nothing of archaeological interest was noted in the testing.

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