Ireland

Major archaeological dig begins beneath Derry’s walls

QUB’s Centre for Community Archaeology partnering with The Friends of Derry Walls for excavation

The archeological dig by QUB which began beneath Derry's Walls on Wednesday.
The archeological dig by QUB which began at a site beneath Derry's Walls on Wednesday. PHOTO: MARGARET MCLAUGHLIN
By Catherine McGinty

Extensive archaeological excavation has begun at the grass banking beneath the Derry Walls, above the Fahan Street area of the city.

The dig, the first of its kind in more than a decade, is being undertaken by Queen’s University’s Centre for Community Archaeology, partnering with The Friends of Derry Walls.

In preparation for the excavation, a Ground Penetrating Radar scan has taken place at the site – a long demolished street of houses known as Nailor’s Row.

The scan was carried out by Dr Alastair Ruffell, a geologist with the QUB Community Archaeology programme, who was hoping to locate a ditch in the area.

Dr Ruffell said the results of the scan would provide the archaeologists with a clearer idea of where to excavate.

Ruairi Ó Baoill, from the Centre for Community Archaeology, a specialist in Medieval and Post-Medieval archaeology, is the site director for the excavation, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The excavation will finish on September 18, subject to the approval of the Historic Environment Division at the Department for Communities.

Derry’s Walls were built between 1613 and 1618 during the Plantation of Ulster.

A historic picture of the site of the QUB archeological dig near Derry's Walls.
A historic picture of the site of the QUB archeological dig near Derry's Walls.

The city traces its origins back to St Columba in the Sixth Century AD. However, evidence has been uncovered in the Thornhill/Culmore area of the city of settlements existing in the region in the Neolithic period.

Updates on the excavation will be available on The Friends of the Derry Walls Facebook page.