2002:0407 - BAYLET, Donegal

Preliminary explorations at Baylet in September 2001 showed that, behind an area of slumped deposits, a portion of a midden site was still in place. It appears that this midden lay on and behind the lip of a steep escarpment at least 2m high. It was impossible to determine the original full height as a thick layer of recent sediments had accumulated at its base. The midden itself had accumulated on the eastern edge of a small knoll, which in turn sloped gently south-eastward, down to the escarpment edge.

As the site was still being eroded, it was decided to return to it to establish how much of the midden survived, what its nature was and whether there was a trace of habitation associated with it or under it.

In 2001 three small trenches had been opened in areas that were thought to be at risk (Excavations 2001, No. 267), and excavation in 2002 was concentrated in two areas: Trenches 1 and 3. As it was thought that smaller faunal elements were likely to occur within the midden, a strategy of limited on-site sieving was formed, and sampling for shellfish analysis and laboratory sieving was carried out.

The original Trench 1 was reopened, and an area of 2m by 2m was initially investigated. Immediately to the south the escarpment dropped away quite steeply, at up to 45º. Within the trench the following sequence was revealed. Layer 1, topsoil, which in places had eroded away, covered Layer 2, comprising varying shell types, many of which were fragmentary. This layer was yellow/light brown and 0.15–0.3m thick. On the northern edge the layer was capped at one point by a patch of clay with charcoal, the surface of which was burnt. In the eastern part of the layer and toward its base was a large concentration of periwinkles over 0.1m thick and nearly 1m across. Limited sieving in the field of Layer 2 showed that it contained large concentrations of fish bones. Layer 3, which in places was up to 0.2m thick, was dominated by oysters, which were often quite large. In 2001 traces of burning were noted under the midden, but no further traces were found in 2002.

Excavation to the south, i.e. downslope, showed that what had been thought to be traces of a further midden buried beneath clay was just the slumped remnants of the midden.

Trench 3 had originally been opened on the steep slope of the escarpment, and in 2002 it was extended up over its lip and onto the comparatively flat area behind it. Excavation in 2001 had exposed a series of layers of oysters, which, as in Trench 1, were thought to represent an earlier midden. However, further work on the escarpment slope suggested that they were a product of events associated with the main phase of settlement, which took place further upslope.

In 2002 Trench 3 was extended upslope and in the area behind the escarpment lip; it was expanded into a square measuring 3m by 3m, with a further 1m extension in the north-eastern corner. Excavation showed that this area had at some point been heavily disturbed by rabbits, with the burrows cutting through and into the subsoil in many places. On removal of all of the disturbed deposits, which contained rabbit bones as well as post-medieval ceramics and iron, the following sequence of midden deposits was noted. Layer 1, topsoil, was in places up to 0.4m thick. Layer 2 consisted of the same layer of yellow, broken-up shells noted in Trench 1. This layer had been over 0.2m thick in places. All layers had been, to some degree, disturbed by rabbits, but the upper portion of this layer had received much damage. At one point over 60 stones, many of which were 0.1m+ wide, had been packed into what may have been a small hollow. Many of these stones showed traces of burning. Two large concentrations of periwinkles were noted in Layer 2. At the base of Layer 2, and in particular downslope, a further layer (2A) was noted. This was dominated by mussels and contained concentrations of fishbone and charcoal. Unlike in other layers, these shells and other elements were in a soil matrix. In places this became a layer of charcoal-rich black soil. Layer 3, the layer of oysters that covered much of the trench, was quite thin, often little more than 0.05m thick. Some features were noted (Layer 4) on top of the natural. These included a hearth or fire-spot and a small pit measuring up to 0.4m across. Overall, the midden deposits were thicker downslope, to the east and south.

As is usual on many Late Mesolithic sites in the Lough Swilly area, the density of flint artefacts is quite low. In this case many of the typical Late Mesolithic blades and flakes are very weathered. Based on the preliminary indications from the 14C dates for the site, this material may have been associated with an early initial phase of occupation and become incorporated in the later midden deposits.

As well as the diverse range of shellfish, there appear to have been concentrations of fishbone on the site, as well as scatters of mammal bones, primarily wild boar and dog, and bird bones.

Further test-pits opened to the east along the lip of the escarpment indicated that parts of the midden survive, although in some cases the sea may have reworked these remnants at a time of higher sea level. However, c. 25m north of the escarpment a small hollow, 1m square, revealed the following sequence. Below nearly 1m of hill-wash a black layer produced a sherd of Neolithic pottery and a scraper. This in turn covered an oyster shell midden into which at least two stake-holes were cut.