2000:0022 - TROOPERSLAND IDB SITE, West Division, Antrim

The site encloses an area of 375m north-east/south-west by 375m (max.). It rises gradually from 18m OD towards a spur of higher ground in the north-western corner of the development at 36m OD, where it enjoys a clear view of Belfast Lough. The topsoil-stripping was monitored, and all deposits were investigated prior to the site being cut and filled. Excavations began at the end of 2000 and finished in early 2001.

Located at the end of the spur of higher ground was a circular enclosure with internal dimensions of 21m north–south by 23m. This ditch was 3m wide and up to 1.7m deep and had an entranceway to the east. There were no visible remains of an internal bank, but the fill of the ditch—large boulders along the base and heavy, redeposited subsoil—would suggest that it had originally been stone revetted.

Central to this enclosure on the highest part of the spur was a circular house 6.4m in internal diameter. The house slot was 0.60m wide and up to 0.55m deep and was filled with a charcoal-rich soil along the north-eastern half, grading to a lightly charcoal-flecked, orange clay elsewhere. The slot was fairly straight-sided with a wide base and contained a substantial quantity of packing-stone along its length. There was a break in the slot to the east, which has been interpreted as the entranceway, though this was not exactly aligned with the gap in the ditch. Struck flint, flint scrapers and a polished porcellanite axe were recovered from the charcoal-rich fill. There was no central post-hole, although the depth of the wall slots would suggest that the walls would have been structurally sound enough to bear the load of a roof.

The house was divided internally by two linear slots, 2m and 1.4m long, leaving a central break of 2.6m. Three equidistant stake-holes spanned this gap. It is unlikely that this internal divide functioned as a weight-bearing structure; it most probably acted as a formal division of the sleeping area from the living area. Several other small, shallow features and stake-holes were excavated in the house interior and, while their function is unclear, they may turn out to be either further subdivisions of the house or a separate phase of activity.

A curvilinear slot ran downslope from the south-eastern edge of the house slot and terminated some 5m away from it. This slot terminal ran in line with the internal division and also delineated an area of small charcoal-rich pits and stake-holes. This slot probably represents the footprint of a porch or extension to the house enclosing a cooking area and may have had a dual purpose as a run-off for rainwater from the roof of the house.

Two other curvilinear slots were excavated, both much narrower and shallower than either the central house slot or the extension slot. These slots lay outside the central house, one to the south-east and one to the south-west, and were both cut by the enclosing ditch. These may be the partial remains of an earlier phase of occupation. Most of the remainder of the features lay to the south-east, just inside the enclosing ditch near the entranceway. Although their function is currently unclear, their location near the ditch causeway might suggest a defensive structure.

Unit 48, Westlink Enterprise Centre, 30–50 Distillery Street, Belfast BT12 5BJ