County: Antrim Site name: PORTRUSH: Antrim Gardens
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/05/045
Author: Lianne Heaney, Northern Archaeological Consultancy Ltd.
Site type: Industrial site
Period/Dating: Medieval (AD 400-AD 1600)
ITM: E 685613m, N 940961m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 55.208455, -6.654899
Archaeological mitigation took place, on behalf of Coleraine Borough Council, prior to the landscaping of Antrim Gardens, Portrush, Co. Antrim. The proposed development consists of the landscaping of the public amenity site at Antrim Gardens. This will entail the redesigning of the path network, the creation of two central gathering spaces within the gardens, tree planting, associated landscaping, as well as inner and exterior wall renovation.
The site is of irregular shape and measured c. 130m from north to south by c. 100m and topsoil-stripping was monitored. All exposed archaeological material was fully excavated. This project was carried out over a period of three months.
The monitoring revealed a period of archaeological activity dating from the medieval and post-medieval periods. Due to the nature of the landscaping scheme only the central part of the site required excavation. The ground level in this area would be reduced to accommodate a service trench, while ground levels would be raised on the rest of the site.
Excavation revealed evidence of collapsed stone walls forming at least two rooms/buildings from different construction phases and four beehive-shaped ovens. Several thousand sherds of medieval pottery found amongst the stone walls dated the structures to between the 12th and 15th centuries. Post-excavation work for this site is ongoing.
638 Springfield Road, Belfast, BT12 7DY
