2023:652 - 170 Mountjoy Road, Brockagh, Magheralamfield, Coalisland, Tyrone

The archaeological watching brief was undertaken on the 30th June 2023 May 2023 at 170 Mountjoy Road, Brockagh, Coalisland, Co. Tyrone. The site was located less than 50m from Mountjoy Castle (TYR 047: 002), a State Care 17th-century campaign fort and blockhouse.

An outbuilding had stood on the site, built of mortared random rubble. This had been demolished and the concrete floor and surrounding yard cut and lifted. Whilst there were obvious similarities in the fieldstone used in the outbuilding and in Mountjoy Castle, similar fieldstone is to be expected for any random coursed fieldstone building in the area.

No definitively historic fabric was noted, either within visible upstanding elements, or within the rubble of the fallen and cleared section.

Upon trenching, a large linear ditch was uncovered running northeast to southwest under the line of the front wall of the current house. It was initially thought to be possibly associated with the Fort but on closer examination, was more likely to be of more recent vintage, as it was less than 1m deep, flat-bottomed and shallow sided and is therefore very unlikely to be defensive in nature. It contained 19th-century and modern farming rubbish, bottles, wire, roofing felt, wood, plastic and piping and had been filled with large field stones under the corner of the house to provide a firm foundation. This aligned very well with a field or lane boundary marked on the 2nd Edition OS. Its location and known extent was recorded.

No archaeological material of any sort was uncovered within the investigation area.