2022:846 - 17 - 23 Charlotte Street, Ballymoney, Antrim

The excavation was undertaken between 20 November and 13 December 2022 at 17 to 23 Charlotte Street, Ballymoney.

During test trenching, the excavation of Trench 4 uncovered at least three rectangular, wood plank wall-defined, tanning pits, as well as the upper surface of a brick-defined circular well. The areas to the north and south of Trench 4 were stripped to try and define the boundaries of the area of archaeology. Upon this being carried out a further dozen or so more tanning pits, and parts of tanning pits, were uncovered. In total the existence of at least seventeen were noted, through only fourteen were excavated, due to health and safety issues.

Initial research indicated that they were of late 18th- or early 19th-century date and may have belonged to a tanner called Jamie Moore who is recorded as living and working in that part of the street at the time. There were several other leatherworkers and shoemakers working in close proximity to the development site at the same time.

The pits had been filled in with rubble and clay, with a basal layer of most of the pits comprising oak bark chippings. The pits themselves were square or rectangular in shape, with a wooden plank-built base and sides, which appeared to have been nailed together using hand-forged nails, though wooden pegs were uncovered in the corners of several of the pits.

The pits were constructed in four rows, orientated approximately northwest to southeast with the centre two rows comprising four pairs of pits, each pit measuring approximately 1.2m by 1.6m and between 1.05m and 1.2m deep. These pits survived to varying degrees of completeness, with the north-western pits in closer proximity to the area of disturbance tending to survive less well. The three pits in the easternmost row were larger, ranging in size from 1.7m by 1.7m to 1.7m by 1.8m.
Little in the way of artefacts were recovered, other than several broken bottles, some post-medieval ceramics and leather off-cuts. Approximately 7.5kg of leather samples were recovered from Tanning Pits 4, 6, 10, and 11, and several samples of oak bark chippings were taken from the various pits. The leather samples were, in the main, off-cuts from initial trimming and processing but two items were of further interest. One was a leather seal, probably from a pump and the other was a leather machine-sewn leg gaiter; this could technically date to the late 18th century but is more likely to date to the early 19th century.

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