1990:001 - BALLYGALLEY, Antrim

A second season's excavation was carried out on this Neolithic settlement site on behalf of the Historic Monuments Branch, DOE(NI), in August 1990. The major thrust was concentrated on the completion of the excavation of the main area opened in the previous season, but smaller cuttings were laid out to the south-west to examine other possible areas of settlement. In 1989 only one small pit was noted in the main area, but with the removal of much of the cobbled 'floor', 39 further features dug into the subsoil were recovered. During the removal of the cobbled surface a fine saddle quern, concave face downwards, was found. The subsoil features were generally circular or oval in plan and varied from 0.15m to 2m in diameter. A number of the smaller examples may be postholes, but no pattern is as yet apparent in their layout. The majority of the larger features contained sherds of pottery, flint tools, flakes and debitage and porcellanite and pitchstone fragments. The pottery was better preserved and less badly weathered than that from the 'floor' and appeared to include a higher incidence of rims. The closed nature of the pit contents also indicate that plain Lyles Hill forms and decorated wares are contemporary in some instances. So far the contents of eleven features have been wet sieved. All contain charcoal (4 samples submitted for C14 determination), carbonised barley (Hordeum spp.) and in some cases other seed remains and fragments of hazelnut shells (Corylus). The most interesting feature of the season was the recovery of part of a shallow bedding trench of (?)rectangular plan, filled with packing stones, which was traced for a distance of 5m before disappearing into the section. It might tentatively be compared with the house structure at Ballynagilly, Co. Tyrone. A third and final season is contemplated for 1991.