County: Antrim Site name: FINKILTAGH
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: B. Williams, Historic Monuments Branch, Ministry of Finance
Site type: Ringfort - rath
Period/Dating: Early Medieval (AD 400-AD 1099)
ITM: E 699030m, N 907189m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.902632, -6.455909
The site, set in to the lee slope of a ridge, (alt. 300’) was excavated before its removal in a land clearance scheme. It consisted of a small, flat, oval platform 14 x 10 metres, surrounded by a ditch. Excavation produced evidence for two phases of construction and occupation. The occupation of phase I was on a low mound (c. 80cm high) of boulder clay, surrounded by a ditch. The remains of a small rectangular structure were found in the south, while at the northern end of the platform there were several substantial postholes and a thick deposit of charcoal. Sherds of plain, thick souterrain were the only finds in this occupation layer.
The ditch was re-cut in phase II and the upcast piled on the site increasing the height of the platform to 1.4m. A dark occupation layer containing only one posthole was discovered. The pottery of this layer, although still souterrain ware, was finer, and in some cases had applied cordons.
