County: Derry Site name: BALLYNASHALLOG AND BALLYNAGARD
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 14A:23 Licence number: AE/00/21
Author: Paul Logue, Archaeological Excavation Unit, EHS
Site type: Prehistoric site - lithic scatter, House - Neolithic and Settlement cluster
Period/Dating: Neolithic (4000BC-2501 BC)
ITM: E 645882m, N 921286m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 55.036984, -7.282232
The Thornhill site is located on a low ridge overlooking the mouth of the River Foyle, three miles to the north of Derry City. Archaeological investigation was necessitated by the construction of a new grammar school. The development covers an area of 40 acres and encompasses two known SMR sites, one being a pair of ring-ditches and the other being a substantial surface flint scatter.
Assessment excavations on the site of the surface flint scatter have uncovered a series of palisaded enclosures. These encompass an area of approximately 100m in diameter and have been dated by artefactual remains to the Neolithic period.
The enclosures consist of several phases and surround the sites of at least five timber buildings, with both round and rectangular examples being uncovered. Along with the buildings, hundreds of stake-holes, post-holes, pits and spreads of occupation debris indicate a wide range of activities undertaken on the site.
Finds from the excavation include flint projectile points, stone and flint axes, various flint and stone tool types, stone beads, saddle querns and pottery sherds (most of which seem to represent undecorated ‘traditional’ carinated bowls), as well as evidence for the working of quartz.
5–33 Hill Street, Belfast BT1 2LA
