2011:151 - BALLYSTOCKART QUARRY, BALLYSTOCKART, Down

A series of test trenches placed across the site uncovered two potential areas of archaeology, which were briefly investigated.

Area 1

Area 1 was initially uncovered in the first of the relocated trenches just to the north of the power lines in Field 4. It manifested itself as two curving wall slots some 5m apart. A second trench, some 15m to the south on the southern side of the power lines, uncovered a series of post-holes and pits. Expansion of the test trenches to determine the limits of the archaeology uncovered two probably conjoined circular slot-constructed features, some 5m in diameter with a ditch width of around 0.5m. To the south of this was a D-shaped post-built feature, some 8m by 5m, with at least one central feature. Outliers included a series of pits, post-holes and spreads, ranging from 0.3m to 1.5m in diameter. To the east and south was a north-north-west/south-south-east-running double linear feature comprising two ditches some 0.8m wide separated by approximately 1.8m. This was transected by, or ran into, another, slightly wider, east-north-east/west-south-west-running ditch at its southern end.

The two conjoined circular features are probably house foundations, possibly a figure-of-eight house dating from the first part of the Early Christian period, AD 450–800, or, as they appear to be slot-built, late Bronze Age/Iron Age figure-of-eight buildings similar to those pre-dating the 40m Structure at Navan near Armagh, dating from the middle of the first millennium BC (though the Navan examples are much larger). If they are separate structures, their possible construction date range extends from the late Neolithic, 3500 BC, to the middle Early Christian period, AD 800. An alternative possibility is that they are barrows, funerary monuments dating from the early Bronze Age, c. 2500 BC, to the late Iron Age, around AD 300. Without any physical dating evidence at this stage it is impossible to be more precise.

The post-built, D-shaped structure to the south-west may be a building associated with the conjoined structure, possibly a shed or outhouse, though there is a central feature present which may be the remains of a hearth. Alternatively, it may be a medieval building similar to that uncovered by NAC at Aughadrumsee in Fermanagh. At this site Feature 1 consisted of four narrow slots, with an associated post-hole, which formed a U-shaped arrangement with the open end facing northwards. The largest of these slots was semicircular, measured 10m x 0.8m x 0.38m and comprised the southern part of the feature. A total of 265 charred cereal grains were recovered, along with a fragment of charred hazelnut shell and 101.7g of charcoal. A radiocarbon date of 405±22 BP (UBA-12287) was obtained from a charred cereal grain, calibrated to cal. AD 1439–1615. It should be noted, however, that the structure uncovered at Ballystockart was post-built rather than slot-built. Again, there was no obvious physical dating evidence visible at this stage. The linear features are probably field boundaries—pre-1858, as they do not appear on any of the OS maps from the 2nd edition onwards (the 1st edition, dating from the 1830s, does not show field boundaries)—but would need to be investigated to establish this with any certainty.

Area 2

Area 2 comprised an oval slot- or ditch-defined feature measuring some 35m east–west by 25m. The full extent of the outer enclosure was difficult to determine in its eastern portion, as bedrock was exposed very close to the surface in this area and machine stripping left a poorly defined surface, necessitating hand investigation. It does appear, however, that a terminus may be present in the south-eastern corner of this enclosure. The outer ditch was around 0.75m wide and contained a series of internal features, the most obvious of which was another curving ditch which ran towards the northern stretch of the outer ditch. As well as this there were a series of other internal pits, post-holes and slots, requiring further hand definition and investigation. To the east of the probable line of the eastern portion of the enclosure was a large charcoal-rich spread and a series of pits. One piece of dating evidence was recovered from the surface of the outer ditch, a thumbnail scraper, a worked flint tool dating probably from the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age.

It may be that Ballystockart is a similar type of site to Site 19, Oakgrove, at Gransha, Co. Londonderry, excavated by Robert Chapple, NAC, a cemetery or ritual site (Excavations 2004, no. 369, AE/02/76). This may be supported by the presence of cremated material in at least one of the features to the north of the enclosure, internal division of the enclosure and evidence for concentrated burning to the east of the enclosure.

Northern Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, Farset Enterprise Park, 638 Springfield Road, Belfast BT12 7DY