County: Antrim Site name: 33–37 Ann Street, Belfast
Sites and Monuments Record No.: - Licence number: AE/06/74 and AE/06/212
Author: Audrey Gahan & Chris Long, Gahan & Long Ltd, 7–9 Castlereagh Street, Belfast, BT5 4NE.
Site type: Urban, post-medieval
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 734025m, N 874302m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.599189, -5.925762
The buildings at 33–37 Ann Street, Belfast, are located to the north of the proposed Victoria Square development. These buildings front on to Ann Street, a known 17th-century thoroughfare.
The trench to the rear of No. 33 Ann Street revealed evidence of earlier activity within this area of Belfast. The earliest feature identified consisted of a 17th–18th-century gully, which underlay the first of a series of metalled surfaces. These surfaces possibly represent the remains of backyard areas associated with houses which would have originally fronted onto Ann Street. The later features identified consisted of a stone wall and a red-brick surface with sandstone foundations, which are likely to have been contemporary and which are of probable 18th–19th-century date.
The excavations at No. 35 revealed few archaeological features, although extensive archaeological activity dating back to the 17th–18th century was recorded. The earliest identified feature was a small rubbish pit located beneath the front portion of No. 35. A metalled surface found in the trench to the rear of the property corresponded to one previously identified in the trench to the rear of No. 33 and represents a continuation of that feature. Also present was a large amount of organic material which was also present in the trench at the rear of No. 33, although it was present in the trench to the rear of No. 35 in larger amounts.
A number of subsoil-cut features were identified within the trench to the rear of No. 37 Ann Street, most notably a ditch and a small pit. The ditch possibly represents the remains of a boundary feature. It is unlikely to have functioned for drainage, as it is likely that such features would probably have been orientated east–west towards the River Lagan. A pit was located close to another which had been cut from a higher level, but it is likely that both represent small rubbish pits. A tanning pit was located in the south-east corner of the trench to the rear of the property and may have been part of a larger tanning complex. This is partially evidenced by the substantial amounts of organic material identified in the other trenches at the rear of Nos 33 and 35 Ann Street.
