County: Antrim Site name: KNOCKCAIRN (4)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/06/283
Author: Norman Crothers, for ADS Ltd.
Site type: Habitation site
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 720235m, N 874276m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.602423, -6.139053
This site was excavated as part of the recently completed BGE (Northern Ireland) gas pipeline. Trial-trenching had revealed potential archaeological remains in the vicinity of a ploughed-down rath.
In Trench A, the sod was removed to reveal mid-brown clayey topsoil, 0.3m thick, overlying the compact brown/orange silty clay subsoil. A small pit with a diameter of 0.32m by 0.2m deep and filled with grey/brown clay loam was uncovered 1.5m from the north end of the trench. A double post-hole measuring 0.7m by 0.5m by 0.2m deep and filled with mid-brown loamy clay was uncovered 5.75m from the north end of the trench.
In Trench B the sod was removed to reveal mid-brown clayey topsoil, 0.4m thick, overlying the compact brown/orange clay subsoil. A linear ditch, 2.5m wide by 0.75m deep and filled with compact grey/brown clay, was uncovered 8m from the southern end of the trench. A modern stone-lined drain filled with mid-brown clay with frequent small to medium-sized stones had been inserted along its northern edge.
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