County: Antrim Site name: Randalstown Road, Town Parks, Antrim
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/08/116
Author: Jon Stirland, ACS Ltd, Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth.
Site type: Prehistoric and early medieval
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 713746m, N 888128m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.728326, -6.234051
Monitoring of topsoil-stripping and subsequent excavation of a number of archaeological features identified during the monitoring took place at the site of this industrial development located within the townland of Town Parks, Antrim. The site contains ANT050–155, described as a small circular mound, detected by aerial photograph. No surface trace of this monument exists today, and no physical evidence of it was identified during monitoring of topsoil-stripping.
However, during monitoring a shallow U-shaped slot-trench, five pits and three charcoal spreads were recorded. After consultation with the Environment and Heritage Service, the features were excavated. One of the pits contained two flint tools, two pieces of worked quartz, eighty pieces of flint-working debitage and one sherd of pottery of prehistoric type. Analysis of the lithic material concluded that the assemblage is dominated by a typological and technological component characteristic of the middle Neolithic period; charcoal samples were taken from the U-shaped slot-trench and one of the pits.
Radiocarbon dating of two charcoal samples indicates that the U-shaped slot-trench is of early medieval date ranging between ad 640 and ad 730 and that the pit containing the lithic material is of Early Neolithic date ranging between 3760 bc and 3630 bc.
