County: Derry Site name: PORTSTEWART: Glebe, Coleraine Rd.
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 3:76 Licence number: —
Author: Declan P. Hurl, Environment Service, Historic Monuments and Buildings
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 682234m, N 936482m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 55.168798, -6.709278
Housing development was taking place to the south of Agherton church, just outside Portstewart. When an area of topsoil, c. 100m x 100m, had been stripped to facilitate this, potential stone settings were noted.
Two areas were investigated over three days. The first was at the north-east corner of the field, adjacent to the churchyard wall, where the deepest removal had taken place. An extensive area of burning, 0.1m thick, was uncovered in the section, and the remnants of a similar layer of burnt soil and charcoal was found in the section 10m to the south. To the north was an irregular pit, 1.1m x 0.8m, with a circular central depression, 0.55m in diameter and 0.3m deep. Single sherds of coarse pot (everted-rim ware?) and a fine white French pot were found in the fill. To the west was the edge of a pit, c. 2.5m wide and 0.3m deep, filled with dark sticky clay and seashells.
Around 90m south of the churchyard were several stone alignments. The longest was a single line of stones, up to 0.65m long, which ran north-west/south-east for 15.3m from the edge of the stripped area. A sherd of coarse pottery was found nearby. The second had the same orientation, but was only 1.83m long and was composed of smaller stones, up to 0.4m long. The last was rhomboid, 4.5m long and 0.35–1.1m wide, and composed of a variety of stones up to the size of those in the first alignment. To the north of this was a thin spread of charcoal.
A further, more intensive, excavation is due to take place in 1995.
5–33 Hill Street, Belfast BT1 2LA
