The remains of 300-year-old buildings have been uncovered by complete chance during renovation work on a country house estate.
Unsuspecting archaeologists were left dumbfounded when the remains were unearthed during digging work on the grounds of Castle Ward near Strangford, Co Down.
There was no record or knowledge of the historical remnants at the National Trust property, which included the foundations of a courtyard and household artefacts.
Archaeologists had singled out the area of thick vegetation for the path of a new drainage system precisely because they believed the area offered nothing of historical significance.
Little could they have guessed that drainage specialists would stumble upon red bricks as they dug up a trench for new piping.
After the initial discovery, the soil was peeled back further to expose a collection of buildings that date as far back as the 1600s.
What they found was a central, cobbled courtyard with several tiled buildings around it.
Household essentials such as a sink, fireplace, cellar and drains also remained.
Experts have theorised the buildings were destroyed when the new mansion was built because it would have been an eyesore blocking the beautiful views of the surrounding Strangford Lough.
The existing country mansion at Castle Ward began construction in the 1760s, although archaeologists know a house stood in the same spot earlier in the century.
It is believed that the buried complex of buildings were domestic and farm-related dwellings dating back to the late 1600s or early 1700s.
Archaeologists discovered butchered animal bones in the historic buildings, as well as pottery, glass bottles and ceramics.
One tiny and fully intact ceramic pot is of particular excitement to the Historic Environment Division (HED) of Stormont’s Department for Communities.
Michael Fearon, from Northern Archaeological Consultancy, was on the site monitoring the drainage system construction when the discovery was made.
‘It was during clearance works that bricks were discovered,’ Fearon said.
‘What looked like just a few bricks at the start just kept expanding and expanding once we went in with the machine to investigate what it was.
‘It was a big surprise.’
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