A Neolithic or Bronze Age burial cairn, estimated to be 3,000–5,000 years old, has been uncovered at The Murrins Area of Special Scientific Interest near Omagh during extensive peatland restoration designed to boost water quality in the Fane and Strule catchments. The feature will be added to the Historic Record of Northern Ireland as a recorded monument.

The find was made under the PEACEPLUS Protecting Shared Waters Project, which is testing nature-based solutions to improve the ecological health of two key drinking water catchments. Led by NI Water, the €7.5 million programme is supported by PEACEPLUS, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and endorsed by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in Ireland, highlighting cross-border collaboration on water management.

To slow flows and cut nutrient and pollutant run-off into the rivers, several hundred peat dams, several thousand metres of peat bank reprofiling and hundreds of metres of bunding have been delivered at The Murrins by contractor C & B McErlean, with works led on the ground by local nature conservation charity Ulster Wildlife.

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Prior to construction, specialist imaging of the site was carried out to flag potential archaeology. This revealed a number of interesting structures, one of which showed particular promise. Ulster Wildlife, working with two members of the Historic Environment Division, undertook a closer inspection and confirmed a previously unknown Neolithic or Bronze Age burial cairn in good condition, which will now be formally recorded.

The project team also hosted pupils from St Brigid's Primary School, Mountfield, near Omagh to see restoration activities first-hand and to learn in the classroom about the role of peatlands in supporting water quality, biodiversity and climate action.

Diane Foster, Protecting Shared Waters Project Manager, said: "​The project will pilot a mix of nature-based solutions (NbS) and agronomic advice in selected sub-catchments of the Strule and a community-based approach to installing NbS and water conservation measures in a selected sub-catchment of the Fane. It aims to reduce environmental pressures on shared water bodies and support their recovery to good or high ecological status. In doing so, it will also enhance the quality and reliability of raw water at abstraction points - an essential step in ensuring safe, clean drinking water for communities on both sides of the border.

"​We were really excited to find out that not only had we contributed to improving raw water quality, but we had also identified a bronze age cairn and are protecting important archaeological sites.

"​We are delighted to work on this important project with our key partners: Uisce Éireann, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Ulster Wildlife, The James Hutton Institute and The Rivers Trust. We will keep relevant communities informed as work progresses."