2022:836 - 161 Portglenone Road, Randalstown, Antrim

Archaeological monitoring and excavation of the site of ANT043:031 was undertaken between November 2022 and April 2023. Within the site the remains of a univallate rath (43m north to south by 38m) were excavated and recorded.  Any archaeological features within the interior of the rath had been destroyed by the construction of a modern building (c.1950 – 1960), however the enclosing ditch survived and remained relatively undisturbed.

This ditch was on average 6.5m wide and 1.9m deep, enclosing an area 24m north to south by 30m.  The basal fills of the ditch were waterlogged, and these anaerobic conditions allowed for the survival of archaeological organic material (leather and wood) that would have otherwise decayed and perished.

Within the ditch the remains of a wooden bridge and around two hundred other pieces of worked wood were recovered.  This included cut stakes and timbers, vessel staves and hoops, mallets, lids, bases and a collapsed wooden bucket.

The outermost 10 rings of one the bridge’s main upright supports was radiocarbon dated and this returned a result of AD 659 – 774 (UBA-52268).

Other artefacts recovered from the ditch included 116 fragments of souterrain ware pottery, a complete leather shoe, leather scraps, a few pieces of struck flint and a damaged bronze cauldron.

A large assemblage of animal bone was also recovered from the ditch this included typical common domesticates of the period, sheep, pig, cattle and horse, and a large piece of deer antler.

A piece of cattle horn recovered from the base of the ditch was utilised for radiocarbon dating and this returned a result of AD 881 – 996 (UBA-52269).

Soil sample processing has also recovered a number of cereal grains.

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