2012:053 - Shane's Castle, Park, Randalstown, Antrim

Archaeological investigations consisting of geophysical and topographic survey were carried out over and around a set of standing earthworks identified as practice trenches used for training during the First World War within the estate grounds of Shane’s Castle, near Randalstown, Co. Antrim. The survey aimed to record the earthworks associated with the trenches, determine whether this trench network extended further and establish if any other associated military installations were present and still remained beneath the surface. The topographic survey took the form of a 50cm Digital Terrain Model (DTM) to record the size and morphology of the trenches with the geophysical survey consisting of both magnetometry and resistivity around the earthworks to establish any further associated features. The survey was able to demonstrate the presence of several archaeological features within the immediate area around the trenches, the most prominent of which is the footprint of a building that served as the camp’s headquarters. A large area of dipole anomalies, visible within the magnetometry survey immediately to the south of the earthworks suggests considerable activity in this area. Additionally, a further clear high resistance features suggests the potential for a further buried structure beneath the ground. However, the small size of the survey limited the scope of the results from the geophysical survey. It is therefore recommended that further work, expanding the survey area, be undertaken to shed more light on the layout of the camp and whether more features associated with training remain within the former camp grounds.

Department of Archaeology, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK