2010:007 - Carey Faughs GAC, Cushendall Road, Ballycastle, Antrim

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Antrim Site name: Carey Faughs GAC, Cushendall Road, Ballycastle

Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/10/147E

Author: Stephen Gilmore, Northern Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, Belfast, BT12 7DY.

Site type: Various

Period/Dating:

ITM: E 715256m, N 875665m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.616064, -6.215526

Test-trenching at Carey Faughs GAC in advance of pitch construction uncovered a double-ditched enclosure with internal features and a souterrain. Souterrain ware and a fragment of a polished stone axe were recovered during the monitoring process, while several sherds of unidentified prehistoric pottery were recovered from the surface of the ditches. Several of the features also contained metal slag. The northern edge of the site was defined by a steep drop down to the river; this may have acted as a defensive feature, though its presence had caused erosion of the ditches. A bullaun stone was recovered from just over the ridge on the slope down to the river. The decision was taken to preserve the site in situ and so it was covered in geotextile and recovered.