A "killing zone" built prior to the 1689 siege of Derry has been uncovered by archaeologists excavating a site immediately outside the city's historic walls.
The zone was established more than 300 years ago by Col Robert Lundy, who was initially in charge of defending Derry against the advancing army of King James II.
"This is more than interesting, it is absolutely fascinating," Mr Richard Doherty, military historian and author of a recent book on the Williamite wars in Ireland, said. "What happened was that Lundy created a killing zone when he developed this site.
"He obviously put a lot of logical and military thought into defending the walls during the siege. This is such a serious piece of military engineering and it involved the demolition of houses to create a deadly killing zone." The site, immediately outside Bishop Gate, will soon be developed into a Stg£2 million sheltered housing accommodation for the elderly.
So far the site has revealed 400-year-old domestic rubbish pits as well as clay pipes and pottery used by settlers who came to Derry during the Plantation of Ulster in the early part of the 17th century.
"The findings have been extremely important," said Mr Paul Logue of the Department of the Environment, who is supervising the dig. "It's amazing what you can learn about people who lived 400 years ago by simply examining their rubbish. The settlers came from Germany, Holland and the south of England.
"We are getting evidence from the year 1600 on, and that's when the planters arrived to set up the town of Derry and there is evidence right up to the 1689 siege. We can tell from what we have found that the people who lived here were middle to lower class." Mr Kevin Kelly of HMD Architects, who are in charge of the housing project, said the site, a former car park, was checked to see if it was of historical significance. "It's tremendous what has been found so far," he said.