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Road to the West. a Road to the Past Volume 2

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Road to the West. a Road to the Past Volume 2 Jonathan BarkleyJonathan and Colin Dunlop Colin A Road to the Past Volume 2 Volume the Past to A Road The Archaeology of the A4 / A5 Road Improvements Scheme Dungannon Ballygawley from to Improvements A5 Road A4 / of the Archaeology The ROAD TO THE WEST THE TO ROAD ROAD TO THE WEST: A Road to the Past Volume 2 Colin Dunlop and Jonathan Barkley The archaeology of the A4 / A5 Road Improvement scheme from Dungannon to Ballygawley ROAD TO THE WEST A Road to the Past Volume 2 The Archaeology of the A4 / A5 Road Improvements Scheme from Dungannon to Ballygawley Colin Dunlop and Jonathan Barkley Published by Northern Archaeological Consultancy Ltd Lagan Ferrovial and Northern Archaeological Consultancy for TransportNI (Department for Regional Development) LAGAN FERROVIAL c/o LAGAN CONSTRUCTION GROUP Rosemount House, 21-23 Sydenham Road, Belfast, BT3 9HA & NORTHERN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONSULTANCY Farset Enterprise Park, 638 Springfield Road, Belfast, BT12 7DY Published by Northern Archaeological Consultancy Ltd 2016 ISBN 978-0-9934560-2-2 Design, layout, images and maps copyright © Lagan Ferrovial and Northern Archaeological Consultancy, 2015 (except where stated) Text: Colin Dunlop and Jonathan Barkley Edited by Dr Victoria Ginn, Department of Environment: Historic Environment Division (DOE: HED) Designed by David McClelland, www.davidcreative.co.uk Printed by www.blurb.co.uk All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher. Applications for reproduction should be made in writing to the publishers and to TransportNI Front Cover: Reconstruction of ceremonial activities at the Timber circle at Armalughey (Site 20). Reconstruction by Philip Armstrong Page i: Castle Caulfield, after which the village takes its name, was constructed in AD 1614 Page ii: Excavations underway on the Bronze Age Ring Barrows at Cullenfad (Site 45) © Headland Contents page: Illustration of Neolithic flint arrowheads from Annaghilla (Site 4) © Headland Acknowledgements This book was commissioned by Gavin McKevitt on behalf of Lagan Ferrovial, for Amey Roads NI and TransportNI. The book was edited by Dr Victoria Ginn (DOE: Historic Environment Division), with further assistance and advice from Paul Logue, Thom Kerr and Terence Reeves-Smyth, also of DOE: HED. Photographs, plans and illustrations have been gratefully provided by Archaeological Development Services (© ADS, where stated) and Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd (© Headland, where stated). Photographs have been provided by Tony Corey and Gail Pollock (DOE: HED) and Gavin Donaghy (Archaeology NI Ltd) and commissioned from Greer Ramsey and Michelle Ashmore (National Museums NI – Picture Library); Mark Haslett (www.markhaslettphotography. com). Artefact illustrations were undertaken by Johnny Ryan (ADS), Stephanie Godden (http:// stephbeatgraphics.daportfolio.com) and colour reconstructions by Philip Armstrong (www. paintthepast.com). Maps were created by Ross Bailey (NAC). Additional research for this book was undertaken by Sarah Nicol and Ross Bailey. Early drafts of this book were edited by Lianne Heaney and Stephen Gilmore. Unless otherwise stated all images are copyright of Northern Archaeological Consultancy Ltd. The author would also like to thank the excavation crews and authors of the archaeological data structure reports (DSR) used when compiling this publication. Special mention should be made to the following DSR authors and editors: Archaeological Development Services (ADS); Peter Bowen, James McKee, Frank Mallon, Kara Ward and Matt Mossop; Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd; Paul Masser, Michael Kimber and Kirsty Dingwall. vi Road to the West. A Road to the Past: Volume 2 Road to the West. A Road to the Past: Volume 2 vii Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................vii Foreword .................................................................................................................................................. xi Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1 Environmental History............................................................................................................................. 5 The First Settlers ..................................................................................................................................... 13 The Neolithic .......................................................................................................................................... 19 The Bronze Age ....................................................................................................................................... 49 The Iron Age ......................................................................................................................................... 101 Early Medieval Period ........................................................................................................................... 113 Medieval Period .................................................................................................................................... 139 Epilogue ................................................................................................................................................. 145 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................... 151 Chapter Notes ....................................................................................................................................... 154 Radiocarbon Dates ............................................................................................................................... 159 List of Archaeological Excavation Sites ............................................................................................... 182 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 186 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 194 viii Road to the West. A Road to the Past: Volume 2 Road to the West. A Road to the Past: Volume 2 ix Opposite: The A4 Road Scheme just before it opened Foreword I am very pleased to lend my support to this publication on the archaeology of the A4 and A5 corridors. Major developments by TransportNI; which included the A4 Dungannon to Ballygawley Dualling Scheme, the A4 Annaghilla Scheme and the A5 Tullyvar Scheme, presented an opportunity for archaeologists to uncover and investigate many features that would have previously been hidden. This publication focuses on archaeological features uncovered on the A4 and A5 corridors during the DBFO Package 2 Contract. It has been prepared in line with a commitment by TransportNI to work with the Department of the Environment’s Historic Monuments Unit to ensure that where major schemes uncover significant archaeological remains that this information is made available to address public interest. I take this opportunity to thank all those involved in the delivery of the A4 / A5 improvements and in the preparation of this informative publication. Pat Doherty Director of Engineering – TransportNI x Road to the West. A Road to the Past: Volume 2 Road to the West. A Road to the Past: Volume 2 xi Opposite: Excavating a wood lined trough at Lisbeg (Site 6) © Headland Introduction The construction of 20km of dual carriageway on the A4 between Dungannon and Ballygawley, the A4 Annaghilla realignment from Ballygawley towards Augher and the A5 Tullyvar realignment from Ballygawley towards Aughnacloy was undertaken between 2008 and 2010. The schemes were built by Amey Lagan Roads Ltd (now Amey Roads NI) and their contractor Lagan Ferrovial as part of the “DBFO Package 2” public private partnership contract. At the time of opening the, then Roads Minister Conor Murphy stated that “The new A4 scheme combined with the recently upgraded Westlink means that you can now drive uninterrupted between Belfast and Ballygawley. The scheme will reduce journey times and improve road safety for those travelling east to west improving access between Belfast and both Enniskillen and Omagh.” Once these works were completed Amey Roads NI became responsible for operation and maintenance of the A4 Dualling Scheme for a period of 30 years. As part of the requirements placed on the scheme by the NIEA (now DOE: HED) and DRD Roads Service NI (now TransportNI) archaeological monitoring was required in advance of construction proceeding on the scheme. Archaeological Development Services Ltd. and Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd. were employed to undertake this work. The monitoring by archaeologists from these two companies identified a total of 52 areas where significant archaeological remains were present. These archaeological sites were then excavated and recorded by teams of archaeologists prior to the construction of the road. The sites identified were both domestic and funerary, and ranged in date from the Mesolithic (8000–4000 BC) to the medieval period (AD 1150–AD 1550). It is these important sites that are discussed
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