County: Antrim Site name: TULLAGHGARLEY
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 32:71 Licence number: —
Author: Liam McQuillan and Chris Long, ADS Ltd.
Site type: Souterrain
Period/Dating: Early Medieval (AD 400-AD 1099)
ITM: E 709428m, N 901490m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.849286, -6.296016
During the construction of a road at this site, near Ballymena, the remains of a souterrain had been exposed in a south-facing section. The remains were recorded, and the cleaning of other areas that had already been stripped was supervised. This cleaning was carried out using a machine with a toothless bucket.
The cut for a creep was revealed in the section face. This was c. 14m long, ranged from 0.6m to 1.7m deep and yielded sherds of souterrain ware. It ran from the east to the upstanding remains of a stone structure at the west. During cleaning it was discovered that this structure was the remains of a passage. The area beneath a lintel was cleared of debris, and the presence of voids beyond suggested that the passage continued further north and that substantial remains may be preserved beneath the ground surface.
Upon return to the site, the lintels of the souterrain were exposed, as well as a subcircular depression to the east, delimited by curving stone-lined cuts and arcs of stake-holes and containing sizeable quantities of souterrain ware.
Unit 48, Westlink Enterprise Centre, 30–50 Distillery Street, Belfast BT12 5BJ
