County: Down Site name: Dolmen Road, Legananny
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE-20-029
Author: Eoin Halpin
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 728720m, N 843295m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.322129, -6.021294
The proposal related to an archaeological condition on a full planning permission for the erection of a single dwelling, garage, access and associated services. The site was located on the south-western slopes of Legananny Mountain, some 110m south-west of the State Care Monument Legananny Portal Tomb (DOW035:037), some 6km south of Dromara, in open countryside.
HED:HMU were satisfied that the location and design of the proposal minimised any visual impacts and impacts on the setting of the Portal Tomb, however they considered that it was possible that some archaeological deposits associated with the tomb, which would have acted as a focal point for activity in prehistory, might have survived on this green field development.
In response to the planning conditions a programme of archaeological works was agreed to test the development area and services. This consisted of five machine-dug test trenches, positioned over the footprint of the proposed house, garage, services and new site access.
Topsoil, which varied generally between 0.3m and 0.6m in depth across the site, overlay an orange gritty, sandy subsoil, into which earth-fast, natural granite boulders were noted. A number of broad linear topsoil-filled features in the subsoil are consistent with evidence for ridge and furrow agriculture. Over-deepened topsoil deposits in the north-east quarter of the site appear to be the product of modern soil dumping in the area.
No evidence was uncovered for the trackway, recorded on the OS map of c. 1830.
AHC Ltd, 36 Ballywillwill Road, Castlewellan, Co Down BT31 9LF
