2003:0004 - BALLYHAMAGE, Antrim

Monitoring was conducted on the site of a proposed residential development on land surrounding No. 35 Burn Road, Doagh, Co. Antrim. Topsoil removal began on 2 April 2003 using a mechanical excavator equipped with a toothless, flat-bottomed bucket. During the stripping, two areas of archaeological interest were exposed, one to the north and one in the south-east of the development site. The rest of the site was taken down to a glacial till, which ranged from a loose, orange, sandy soil to a more clayey, greenish-grey soil that overlay stony gravel.

Area 1 contained a subcircular ditch, 15m south-west/north-east by 9.5m, which had been truncated by agricultural activity and had been cut by a trench for a modern drain. Fragments of a single souterrain ware vessel and several struck flints were recovered from the ditch fill. Various other features were uncovered by topsoil-stripping, including a series of post-holes—three of which were cut by the ditch—stake-holes, a large linear stone-filled feature containing traces of iron slag, a subrectangular pit and poorly preserved traces of another possible enclosure to the east of the larger enclosure.

The features uncovered in Area 2 at the south of the site consisted of five curvilinear ditches, two pits and a souterrain. Three of the ditches (C71, C88 and C122) are aligned north-west/south-east and two (C114 and C116) are aligned east–west and are cut by C71 and C88. The main feature in Area 2 was a souterrain consisting of a drop creep, a short length of passage and a single, circular chamber. The souterrain had been deliberately slighted and infilled, probably in the medieval period, had been truncated by a fairly recent sewer pipe and was in a very unstable condition. Finds included souterrain ware, medieval and post-medieval pottery, flint, ironworking residue and a medieval, silver, long cross penny

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