2025:053 - 'Rivenwood' phase 3, Newtownards, Down

The archaeological site works were originally proposed to consist of the excavation of 20 1.8m-wide test trenches at approximately 10m spacings with a total length of 686m. Following a site meeting with HED it was confirmed that Trench 1 could not be excavated due the positioning of the site welfare facilities. In addition, the excavation of Trenches 4-8 was not undertaken. This was based on the evidence from Trenches 2, 3 and 9-13 which clearly showed that the southern half of the site had been previously stripped down to subsoil/bedrock and then infilled with modern material. A revised trenching plan was agreed with HED to confirm the existence of fill material within the areas of Trenches 4-8. Finally, both Trenches 18 and 14 were shortened (a reduction of 18m and 6m respectively) due to the presence of a large spoil heap and the site access in these areas.

The northern section of the site consisted of a greenfield area and contained six trenches (15-20). Topsoil within these trenches ranged in depth from 0.05-0.4m and for the most part directly overlay naturally occurring subsoil which was a compact orange/yellow boulder clay with the underlying bedrock exposed throughout. Trenches 17 and 18 both contained deposits of modern fill at their southern ends. This extended to a depth of 0.4m and consisted of a dark brown silty clay with inclusions of modern building materials, plastic and a golf ball.

The trenching within the southern part of the site showed that this area had been previously stripped and then refilled with modern material. This material ranged in depth from 0.1m to over 3m. It directly overlay naturally occurring subsoil which was a compact orange/yellow glacial till with the underlying bedrock exposed throughout. The deeper material was identified towards the very southern end of the site in Trenches 2, 3 and 21. This part of the site had been raised above the adjacent field by approximately 3m.