County: Antrim Site name: BELFAST: Custom House Square
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/04/190
Author: Tim Stevens, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 734202m, N 874545m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.601332, -5.922905
The site lies on the eastern edge of the zone of archaeological potential which delimits medieval and 17th-century Belfast. Testing indicated that the site lies within an area of ground reclaimed in the post-medieval period.
All archaeological deposits uncovered consisted of material having been deliberately dumped on to the site in an attempt to consolidate and reclaim the area. The construction of a red-brick culvert uncovered in one trench probably represents an early attempt to drain the surrounding area into the Farsett River.
No archaeological deposits or finds pre-dating the post-medieval period were uncovered. The results of the investigation concur with the cartographic evidence, which shows that the site lay undeveloped until the end of the 17th century.
Unit 48, Westlink Enterprise Centre, 30-50 Distillery Street, Belfast BT12 5BJ
