2007:52 - Kilbegs, Antrim

Northern Ireland Water proposed to carry out extensive improvement works at an existing wastewater treatment works at Kilbegs, Co. Antrim. Archaeological evaluation, which started in November 2007, involved monitoring of the removal of the bulk of a large spoilheap in the south-west corner of the development with a bulldozer. The remaining topsoil was then removed by a back-acting machine fitted with a toothless bucket. The topsoil consisted of cohesive, fine mid-brown loamy clay, which had an average depth of 0.4m. This covered coarse, loose orange sandy clay natural, which extended across most of the stripped area, aside from the south edge of the development, where the natural became loose, coarse dark-grey coarse sand.
The only archaeological feature uncovered was a roughly oval pit situated c. 32m east of the west site boundary and 15m west of the existing site road. The pit, which measured 1.22m long by 0.6m wide with a maximum depth of 0.28m, contained three fills. The basal fill consisted of loose dark-greyish/black silty sand mixed with frequent flecks of charcoal and moderate burnt bone. This was overlain by loose mid-greyish/brown silty sand mixed with moderate charcoal flecking and frequent pieces of burnt bone and a small quantity of burnt flint. It was partially covered by a shallow layer of loose, coarse mid-brown silty sand. No other archaeological remains were uncovered.