2007:50 - Gransha, Antrim

An excavation was carried out at Gransha, Islandmagee, following the identification of possible archaeological features during an evaluation carried out by Andrew Gault (EHS). The excavation consisted of the topsoil-stripping of three areas (Trenches 1–3) in advance of construction of a house, garage and septic tank. Small isolated features, some of probable prehistoric date, were identified.
Trench 1 was located in the area of the proposed garage and measured 7m by 6m. Two features of archaeological potential were identified here. The first was a subcircular pit, the maximum recorded dimensions being 0.56m (L) by 0.48m (W) by 0.35m (D). Struck flint and charcoal were recovered from this pit, although two sherds of white-glazed ceramics recovered from the base of the feature suggest that this pit is not of antiquity. The other feature identified in this trench was a curvilinear gully, c. 2.2m long by 0.4m wide. This feature was filled with a charcoal-flecked gritty loam and large rounded and sub-angular stones. A large quantity of flint was recovered from this feature (both struck and thermally damaged pieces).
Trench 2 was located in the area of the proposed house and measured 21m by 8m. Following the removal of the topsoil, an elongated stony feature was observed running roughly north–south. Upon excavation it was obvious that this feature was not in a cut, but rather sitting upon a brown/grey clay deposit. It was interpreted as being the ploughed-out remains of either an old field boundary or field clearance cairn. Clean up of the stony feature produced numerous flint artefacts (including a fragment of a barbed and tanged arrowhead) as well as post-medieval pottery sherds. The brown/grey clay deposit stratigraphically below the stony feature produced numerous pieces of flint as well as sherds of green-glazed medieval pottery. Removal of the brown/grey clay deposit revealed several features cut into the subsoil. An elongated linear gully, filled with a charcoal-rich stratum, was observed in the southern area of the trench. Excavation of this feature revealed a shallow cut (0.2m deep) which extended for a length of c. 2.4m north-east/south-west. Sherds of undiagnostic coarse pottery (possibly prehistoric) were recovered from this feature. Further to this, a pit feature was excavated c. 6m to the north of this gully. This feature was filled with a tenacious clay, which produced numerous fragments of struck flint, sherds of coarse pottery and a fragment of polished stone, possibly a rubbing stone.
Trench 3 was located in the area of the septic tank and measured c. 3m by 3m. This trench was archaeologically sterile apart from two small features revealed cutting the natural subsoil. These took the form of two small post-holes, each approximately circular in shape and measuring 0.25m in diameter. The easternmost of these features produced a sherd of medieval green-glazed pottery, as well as struck and thermally damaged flint.
The excavations at Gransha revealed the presence of small isolated features possibly dating to the prehistoric and medieval periods. Post-excavation work on this site is still ongoing and radiocarbon dates for the excavated features are anticipated.