County: Tyrone Site name: Blackberry Lane Phase 2, Drumreagh Otra, Newmills
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/19/016
Author: Thomas McCrudden
Site type: Bronze Age settlement
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 681567m, N 868040m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.554125, -6.739080
Initial monitoring (27/2/19 – 04/03/19) uncovered an inverted urn in the south of the site (Area A) and an arc of charcoal-rich pits and features in the north (Areas B & C). Excavation showed this to be a Bronze Age settlement site overlying earlier Neolithic pit activity, with the inverted urn residing within a curving enclosure ditch and the charcoal-rich pits constituting part of a Bronze Age round house with drip gully, wall slot, internal post-holes and pits and a series of post-holes forming an enclosing arc around the house. The earlier Neolithic activity was made up of a cluster of artefact-rich pits with fine examples of flint blades and an abundance of Carinated and Globular ceramic sherds present.
Three radiocarbon dates were returned from the site. The dates were calibrated to 2-sigma using BetaCal3.21: HPD method: INCAL13. Within Area A, the curving enclosure ditch was sampled and dated to 1532-1418 cal. BC (Beta – 522567) and a structural entrance post-hole from Area B was sampled and dated to 1500 – 1383 cal. BC (Beta – 522568). A ceramic-filled pit from Area C returned an earlier date of 3822-3710 cal. BC (Beta – 530779). These dates suggest Early Neolithic to Middle Bronze Age activity across the entirety of the site.
Much of the uncovered lithic and ceramic material dated to the Neolithic; however, some Bronze Age material was also present.
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