2024:423 - Dunmull Hillfort, Antrim

Unauthorised works had taken place within the scheduled monument area associated with Dunmull Hillfort, Bullaun and Well (ANT 006 004). In consultation with Department for Communities (DfC), scheduled monument consent (SMC) was granted for amelioration works.

On foot of an SMC issued 21 April 2023 (Ref: SMC41-22/23), work on two elements of which were given permission to proceed: re-instatement of cable trench and top dressing and re-seeding the ground when complete. Archaeological monitoring of these works and the associated metal detecting were carried out on 10 October 2023. The trench was backfilled, using a tracked mechanical digger, with a toothless ditching bucket. Care was taken to ensure that only excavated material was used and that there was no disturbance to the underlying original ground surface. The backfilling was undertaken in strips, exposing surfaces through the excavated material. These surfaces were examined visually for stray finds and were also swept with a metal detector, also for stray finds. Following the backfilling works the entire 135m of backfilled trench and the ground to either side was reseeded, with grass.

Following discussions with DfC a second SMC was granted on 11 March 2024 (ref: SMC42-23/24), which covered the remaining amelioration works to the perimeter of the hillfort, the entrance area, the access lane and various pieces of farm fencing and associated gates. These works took place intermittently between March and August 2024, again under license AE/2023/109.

Nothing of archaeological significance was uncovered in either phase of works and in an email received from representative of DfC, on September 30 2023, it was confirmed that HED was content that the outstanding remediation work had been carried out satisfactorily and that all outstanding issues that were within the power of the landowner to address, had now been met.