2006:88 - LARNE: Ballyhampton Road, Antrim

In the course of monitoring the removal of the topsoil in two fields in the townland of Ballyloran, off the Ballyhampton Road, Larne, Co. Antrim, several sites of possible archaeological interest were uncovered, one site in the south field and four in the north field. Finds recovered during topsoil-stripping included post-medieval pottery, struck flint and two porcellanite axes (one intact, one broken).

Excavation of the sites in the north field uncovered a stone circle with outlying stones. The circle consisted of three broken stones found in their sockets, sockets with packing stones in situ and six post-holes forming a small passageway. Two large, intact, recumbent stones were uncovered. One, an outlier, lay across its original socket south of the stone circle and the other, to the north-west of the circle, lay buried, north-east/south-west, with no obvious socket nearby. Sherds of Bronze Age pottery were recovered from this site. 14C dating for this site returned Late Bronze dates for samples from two of the sockets in the stone circle and Late Neolithic/Early Bronze dates from a sample from a possible socket near the large recumbent outlier. It would appear that the stone circle was, from the finds recovered and the 14C dates, mainly in use in the Bronze Age.

Site 5, in the southern field, revealed two distinct features of stone construction, c. 10m apart and possibly dating from the same period, along with a small pit containing deliberately placed flint artefacts. Feature 1 resolved into an area of small stone metalling, with an oblong ‘trough’ or pit at its centre. While there was plenty of charcoal, especially in the layer immediately above the metalling, there were no signs of any burning. A large quantity of Neolithic pottery and flint was recovered. Feature 2 appeared as a sub-oval area of darker, damper soil than that surrounding it. Excavation revealed it as a subcircular, concave area of small-stone metalling, surrounded by a low bank with a truncated standing stone in its middle. The majority of the Neolithic pottery recovered from Site 5 came from this feature, along with quantities of flint. It was not possible to excavate the feature to its full extent, as it continued north beyond the limit of the current development.

Feature 3 was a circular cut about the site of a large post-hole. It was filled by a charcoal-rich soil. In this fill were three large flint tools, one largely intact the other two broken. The intact piece showed signs of pressure flaking and was extremely well made. Two samples from Site 5 were processed for 14C dating and both returned Early Neolithic dates. It is probable that these sites represent a ritual landscape dating from two periods. Post-excavation work is ongoing.

638 Springfield Road, Belfast, BT12 7DY