Souterrain in Sheepgrange

Discovered in August 1991 during land reclamation the souterrain is situated on well drained agricultural land on a steep slope just east of the river Mattock. The souterrain is orientated NE-SW and no associated surface features were visible prior to land reclamation. The monument was archaeologically investigated under license (91E0031) in August 1991. Prior to the investigation all that was visible was a large roofstone and some of the smaller roof corbels which had been removed from a chamber (Structure 1), and further N, a section of a passage (Structure 2) had also been exposed (Roche 1992). Structure 1: This consisted of a passage and a bee-hive chamber and access was gained to it through a gap in the roof. The interior of the chamber was almost free of collapse and measured 2.78m by 2.62m and 1.66m in height. The stones used in the construction were mostly of sandstone, with larger stones forming the first four courses; above these the stones diminished in size towards the roofstones. The entrance to the passage was flanked by two large jamb stones (c. 0.7m in height), which in turn support a lintel measuring lm in length. The passage (averaging 0.86m wide) survives intact for a distance of 5.38m. Beyond this point it is obscured by collapse. The visible roofstones are large and some seem to be of green grit. At a distance of about 2.5m along the passage, a second but smaller passage branched off at right angles. Only 2.08m of this passage was visible: the rest was obscured by collapse. This passage averages 0.72m in width, narrows slightly and rises as it gets further from the main passage. When the collapse was probed there appeared to be an open space behind it, so it is possible that this smaller passage led to another chamber. (Roche 1992) Structure 2: This consisted of a short length of passage which abutted a semi-circular stone feature. The passage was poorly preserved and was much wider than that at Structure 1, measuring 1.30m in width: it survived for a length of 1.90m. This feature also seemed to have been damaged prior to the land reclamation works as no roofstones survived in situ or in the collapsed material. The semi-circular stone feature was better preserved but only the S extent was investigated. The exposed section measured 2.42m in length and 1m in width. The floor level of this feature was 0.42m lower than the short length of passage that abutted it. The excavator concluded that Structure 2 represents either two separate souterrains or a creep between two sections of the one souterrain. (Roche 1992) Compiled by: Paul Walsh Date of upload: 12 November 2013