2013:349 - DIVIS, Antrim

A small-scale excavation was carried out in the National Trust Divis and Black Mountain property at the site of a proposed car park. The excavation was undertaken by the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork in collaboration with the Belfast Hills Partnership, Northern Ireland Environment Agency: Built Heritage and the National Trust. This project involved a significant public outreach element: many local schools and conservation and community groups participated, as well as volunteers from the Ulster Archaeological Society, students/ex-students from Queen’s University Belfast and members of the general public.

A geophysical survey of the site was carried out immediately prior to the excavation. Four trenches were sited over a geophysical anomaly (no archaeological significance), flint scatters (no features present) and an area of stones visible through the surface vegetation. This stony area revealed a rectangular stone platform; it was interpreted as the foundation of a vernacular building and preliminary analysis of the finds and cartographic evidence suggest this may be of early 18^th-century date.