1994:005 - BALLYGALLEY, Antrim

This assessment took place over a five-day period between October 19–25. It was carried out on behalf of the DOE Environment Service on foot of a planning application. The site is located 200m west of Ballygalley village, south of the main Ballygalley-Cairncastle Road. The field measures 2.5ha overall. The local topography consists of ground gradually sloping down from west to east with a distinct break in slope about one-third of the way across the field. Here the terrain drops down relatively steeply towards the course of the Ballygalley river which forms the eastern limit of the field. This break in slope is thought to represent the line of the raised beach. The field enjoys superb views of Ballygalley Head to the east and the sea to the north with the twin heights of Sallagh Braes and Knock Dhu creating a splendid backdrop to the west.

The results of the assessment, consisting of the excavation of nine machine-cut trenches ranging in length from 40m to 15m, suggest that no archaeological remains survive in the southern and south-western part of the proposed development area indicating that the archaeology found in the adjacent excavations (see Excavations 1994, No. 4) does not now run into this field. On the eastern area of the field, however, the break in slope was found to be the remains of the raised beach which originally extended up the valley of the Ballygalley river. The sand and chalk grains and nodules found at the northern end of Trench 7 and the southern ends of Trenches 6 and 4 are evidence of this. During building work in the nearby town car park, which was probably under water in the immediate post-glacial period, a similar deposit of sands and chalk was observed (M. Conway pers. comm.).

The archaeology uncovered on the sloping sides of the raised beach appeared to be limited to a distinct curve in the line of the scarp. It is very doubtful that this is a true reflection of the original extent of the deposits; in fact the observed western edge of the archaeology simply faded out rather than came to an abrupt stop. It is most likely that these deposits survived because they were deposited on a down-slope which over time, due to hill wash and soil creep, became covered with an over-deepened covering of topsoil. It was this deeper layer which protected the underlying archaeology from the destructive forces of agricultural improvements which probably all but destroyed the archaeology elsewhere in the field.

The deposit itself appeared to be divided into four distinct zones. The outer zone, which ran along the upper ridge of the raised beach, consisted of charcoal blackened occupation soils with some worked flint but, most interestingly, sherds of Neolithic pottery. The next zone, running round on the inside edge of these soils, was what appeared to be a crude metalled surface, consisting of dumps of stone. These stones straddled the underlying junction between the drier compacted gravels upslope and the wetter clays of the base of the scarp. It is possible that these stones represent platforms which extended out into what would have been, in Neolithic times, an inter-tidal marsh. The remaining two zones are similar in that they both consist of concentrations of flint. These flint deposits run along the base of the slope and rest on grey-green clays, which in places are up to 0.6m deep. The clays have an archaeological component to them in that some worked flint and animal bone was recovered during the excavation of a number of trial pits. However, it is possible that these finds are intrusive, having worked their way down the profile over time. It is even possible, due to the fluidity of the clays, that they became embedded during the Neolithic.

The core area of flint concentration was uncovered at the southern end of the archaeological spread. It appeared to be associated with a 'platform' of stones and a Neolithic bank and ditch. The concentrated nature of the spread and its depth rules out random deposition. It could, however, suggest either repeated deposition over time or a single large scale deposit. The depth of the layer and the fairly uniform intermixing of the clay soils mitigates against a single deposit. Therefore it is most likely that the flint was deposited over time and deliberately in the same, relatively confined, area.

It is probable that the deposits at the crown of the slope represent occupation soils associated with Neolithic habitation of the area. The stone 'platforms', noted at the junction of the occupation soils and flint-scattered clays, appear to be an attempt either to extend the available area for occupation or, as is more likely, create solid ground on which to work. The deposition of the worked flint, much of which appears to be debitage, simply represents the disposal of waste with the concentration representing the continued deposition of an individual or group of flint workers possibly living close by. The fact that the flint bearing clays overlay a dark brown humic peaty deposit with bone, wood and roots suggests that the flint was dumped into either shallow water or a marsh but certainly very wet ground.

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