2005:007 - ARMOY: St Patrick's Church, Antrim

Between April and September 2005, the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, funded by the Environment and Heritage Service Northern Ireland, completed Phase 2 excavations at St Patrick’s Church, Armoy, Co. Antrim, with Phase 1 having been undertaken in late 2004 by Dr John Ó Néill (Excavations 2004, No. 8, AE/04/155). St Patrick’s Church is thought to be the site of the early medieval Patrician foundation at Armoy. It is situated on a commanding promontory at c. 30m OD, defined along its eastern side by a steep scarp from where it may have been approached by the Slighe Miodluachra, and holds impressive views over the Wellwater River valley to the east and south. The current church was constructed during the 19th century and is thought to have been built over the remains of the medieval church (and possibly the early medieval church). The remains of a round tower thought to date to the late 11th/early 12th century lie to the north-west of the modern church within the graveyard.

The archaeological mitigation came as a result of the church’s need to expand the graveyard into a small paddock forming part of the rectory garden, which lies directly to the north of the 19th-century church and graveyard and within 15m of the round tower (SMR 13:10). The 2004 excavations had focused on the south-west of the paddock, with 2005 excavations expanding into the north-west, south-east and (to a lesser extent) the north-east of the plot. In total, during the 2005 work, an area measuring c. 40m (east–west) by 25m was fully excavated, producing evidence for multiple phases of activity during the early medieval, medieval and post-medieval periods.

The earliest activity in the area relates to a small number of truncated gullies, post-holes and spreads (Phase 1); these were followed by the excavation of an enclosing boundary ditch (Phase 2). A 15m portion of this ditch was excavated, revealing a shallow, U-shaped feature, terminating towards the east of the excavation area near the steep eastern scarp. To its north, the ditch was accompanied by a broad step (apparently a scarped walkway) running parallel along its length. The slight curvature of the ditch suggests that it enclosed an area to its south, which would include the area where the later round tower and 19th-century church now stand. When complete, it may have formed a semicircular boundary feature, perhaps constituting a D-shaped enclosure. This period of activity also sees a small number of gullies and pits located to the south (and therefore within the interior) of the enclosing ditch. In the period which followed (Phase 3), a complex series of quite substantial gullies were excavated. These lay upslope of the enclosing ditch and formed a drainage network that eventually fed into the main ditch. At this stage, the ditch itself began to silt up considerably, and elsewhere occasional pits and gullies were found to the south and east of the ditch. This period yielded few artefactual remains, although rich and plentiful organic remains were recovered from the base of the ditch.

Once the ditch had silted up, comprehensive recutting work was undertaken (Phase 4). For the most part, this recut was V-shaped and extended the length of the ditch further eastwards by a few metres, closer to the steep eastern scarp. Subsequently, the ditch seems to have been open to refuse and may have filled up over a short period of time. Few artefactual remains relate to Phases 1 to 4, and it is thought that this period of activity relates to the 5th to 7th centuries AD, during the early medieval Patrician foundation of the church and before the development of souterrain ware.

During Phase 5, an extensive deposit covered the area of excavation, perhaps resulting from horticultural/agricultural activity, and sealed the earlier phases of ditches and gullies. Subsequent to this was the most intensive period of occupation to date (Phase 6), with prolific but often ephemeral evidence for structural remains, comprising the remains of wall footings, cobbling, paving and metalled surfaces, as well as stone boundary markers and small-scale craft/industrial activity. These remains tended to survive as elements of structures, with none retaining the integrity of the full footprint of a building. To the north of the ditch (which had by now largely filled in) some heavily truncated structural remains were found in association with a heavy concentration of lignite debitage. This debitage, which numbered in the high hundreds, was related to the final stages of bracelet production and was entirely comprised of cores or bracelet centres and broken bracelets, the latter of which were broken during the final stages of production. There were no finished pieces and no lignite was recovered that was unrelated to the final stage of completion of curated rough-outs. This area, therefore, seems to have housed a working (or dump) area related to specialised lignite working. Small-scale fires and furnaces were also commonly found during this period of activity, particularly in the remaining dip of the ditch and its vicinity. These lacked formality but commonly yielded slag related to metalworking and, possibly, glassworking.

Phase 7 was marked by the construction of a drystone souterrain towards the east of the excavated area. This was aligned along a north–south creep which seems to have had its entrance to the north, beyond the limits of excavation. The main north–south passage led to a hidden chamber at its southern extent. Part of the way along the passage, another avenue forked towards the south-east in the direction of a steep eastern scarp which delimits the eastern extent of the complex, again beyond the limit of excavation. It is possible that this north-west/south-east passage may have led to further chambers, but it may also have been an external exit, or ‘escape passage’, which could have opened at some depth down the face of the eastern scarp, thereby allowing for escape from the site.

To the west of the souterrain, within a heavily truncated area, lay the partial remains of features that may relate to a building, comprising a well-constructed hearth and a nearby area of paving and metalled surface. These remains relate to Phase 8 and are perhaps associated with the use of the souterrain; across the excavated area, more ephemeral traces of structural remains and occupation activity were found. Phases 6–8 yielded an abundance of undecorated souterrain ware, indicating that these phases span 7th–10th-century activity, but it is envisaged that post-excavation analysis of the material culture assemblage and radiocarbon dating will refine this chronological framework. Phases 6–8 also yielded a diverse range of non-ceramic artefacts, including bead fragments, the lignite production debitage discussed above, slag and metalwork, including a fragment of a decorated bronze book clasp, as well as a bifacially decorated and perforated stone, perhaps depicting a religious figure.

Following Phases 6–8 was a period of more limited activity dating to the medieval period (Phase 9). This activity includes the modification of the central area of the souterrain into a substantial furnace, which yielded, among other artefacts, significant quantities of slag and everted-rim ware (beginning in the 13th century). This phase also sees a small number of gullies and pits, including one large sump-like feature, which yielded some glazed, wheel-thrown medieval pottery (13th–14th-century). Possibly contemporary with this activity, in the central area of the excavation, was found the remains of an unfinished structure that comprised foundation trenches and the corner of a mortared wall, which was later reused as a solid foundation for a small rectangular structure; the precise dating of these structural elements has yet to be established.

The final phases of activity include a number of poorly preserved burials, which include the possible remains of medieval burials as well as later cillín burials (Phase 10). In addition, some limited evidence for post-medieval garden archaeology was uncovered (Phase 11). This was mainly found where excavation impacted upon the perimeter of the field and relates to the use of the plot as part of the rectory vegetable garden over the last few hundred years.