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Monuments and Landscape in Atlantic Europe, Scarre

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<< Text Pages >> Ballymena Ring Fort - Hillfort in Ireland (Northern) in Co. Antrim

Submitted by coldrum on Wednesday, 31 March 2010  Page Views: 10403

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Ballymena Ring Fort
Country: Ireland (Northern) County: Co. Antrim Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Ballymena
Latitude: 54.846270N  Longitude: 6.25242W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
1 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
2 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
3

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Ring fort in Co. Antrim. Neolithic man puts major bypass on hold. Thousands of years ago our Neolithic forebears were hunting wild game with flint arrows in the hills overlooking what is now Ballymena. Now they’re still making their presence felt, delaying a road dualling scheme that was aimed at easing congestion between the town and the M2.

The A26 Ballee Road East to M2 Ballymena bypass dualling scheme was due to be completed by the end of this month. But bad weather and the discovery of rare Neolithic remains have pushed that deadline back to late summer, costing tens of thousands of pounds.

The plan was to dig through a hill and use the material to build embankments elsewhere in the route. But when the topsoil was being stripped away, archaeologists uncovered a series of historical hotspots where more investigations needed to be carried out.

Many of the hotspots found by Archaeological Development Services Ltd during the topsoil stripping were isolated pits which contained burnt bone and Neolithic pottery.

But the big find was a rare Neolithic ring fort unearthed at just the point where the cutting was to be excavated — one of just four found so far in Ireland. This was investigated by 20 archaeologists for eight weeks.

The fort’s remains lie two miles southeast of Ballymena, overlooking the Larne Road roundabout to the north, and was set on the north edge of a drumlin 60m above sea level.

The enclosure was more or less circular, between 40m and 45m in diameter, with two entrances or causeways. One spanned a gap of 25m around the west side of the enclosure, while the other lay towards the south end measuring 3m wide.

Inside the enclosure is what appears to be a series of structures, including rectangular and circular shapes with pits and hearths. Archaeologists have discovered flint chippings, small blades and a leaf-shaped arrowhead.

DRD said excavation of the cutting and removal of the material to build embankments elsewhere on the site would have been completed during the 18-week period from mid-June to late October, if it hadn’t been for the discovery.

Wintry weather also held the work up and the cutting won’t now be excavated until spring’s drier conditions.

A DRD spokesman said: “Following completion of the cutting and construction of embankments it is hoped that the remainder of the road construction will be completed at a fast pace to allow the road to be opened to traffic in late summer 2010.”

Read more in the Belfast Telegraph
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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
D1201 : Link between Old & New Liminary Roads, Ballymena by Dean Molyneaux
by Dean Molyneaux
©2009(licence)
D1201 : Liminary Road by Robert Ashby
by Robert Ashby
©2015(licence)
D1201 : Realigned Liminary Road, Ballymena (2) by Dean Molyneaux
by Dean Molyneaux
©2009(licence)
D1201 : Realigned Liminary Road, Ballymena by Dean Molyneaux
by Dean Molyneaux
©2009(licence)
D1201 : New dual carriageway, Ballymena (1) by Albert Bridge
by Albert Bridge
©2009(licence)

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"Ballymena Ring Fort" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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Archaeology in the Glens, Sat 21 & Sun 22 July by Andy B on Saturday, 14 July 2012
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IAR will be hosting an event in Glenariff Forest Park on Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd July 2012.

The event ‘Archaeology in the Glens’ will consist of four activity areas located in the triangle of land adjacent to the main carpark. The four activities taking place will be a pop-up museum, pottery area with kiln, children’s activity area, and an archery area. Discover the lives of our ancestors, from the earliest hunter-gatherer to the modern society we have today. Archaeology gives us a unique insight into the past through the artefacts our ancestors left behind in the earth beneath our feet. Irish Archaeological Research (IAR) is launching an innovative, hands-on, heritage scheme called the ‘The Open Air Museum’.

This project will showcase the artefacts found during archaeological investigations around the country and enable the public to interact with them. As well as the museum exhibit there will be a living history component that will allow people to experience how our ancestors might have made tools and equipment and how we think they may have lived. There will be archaeologists on hand to answer any questions about the local heritage and any aspect of the event.

The Pop-Up Museum,
The museum will provide a focal point for the event as it will be first activity people will see/enter when they arrive at the event. The museum will be housed in a marquee and will contain a variety of archaeological artefacts and will be staffed by at least one archaeologist ready to answer any questions about the displays or the activities on offer. As the Antrim coast has been subject to much development over the past couple of decades, several archaeological sites were uncovered during the works. The public may not have heard about the majority of these sites. Our museum will deliver information about the most important of these hidden sites as well as displaying a wide range of archaeological artefacts from prehistoric pottery, axes and arrowheads to post-medieval clay pipes. Alongside the genuine artefacts will be replicas, showing how some of these artefacts may have looked when originally made.

There will also be models of prehistoric dwellings to complement information about how Ireland was populated; from the few tribes of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, armed with just bows and arrows, to the large-scale farming communities of the Neolithic, who purged the landscape of trees using stone axes and fire. We will also look at the villages of the Bronze Age, examples of which have been found in north Antrim at Portrush. There will be information about the exploitation of local resources and how these materials have been found in far distant lands, illustrating the extent of prehistoric trade links.

Junior Archaeology Workshops, We have found through experience that children love the mystery and myth of archaeology and history and they learn best through actively taking part, so we will have an area especially for under 12’s. Here they will learn about our Celtic warrior ancestors and the art they used on their clothes, jewellery, and weapons. They will be able to design and make their own Celtic warrior shield and helmet as well as try their hand at Celtic art. The area will be located between the Museum and the Pottery area under a marquee. The children can sit and take as long as they like painting, colouring-in and/or making shields and helmets. We will provide all the materials needed for these activities and there will be at least one archaeologist on hand to tell the children about their Celtic past and help them to make and create pieces of Celtic art.

Making Prehistoric Pottery, The pottery area will be adjacent to the children's area. It will consist of several tables where people will be shown how to make and decorate prehistoric pottery. The option to fire the pottery in a kiln will also be available. The kiln will consist of a drum/barrel barbeque, which will be off the ground so as not to cause any damage; i

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Neolithic remains delay bypass by Andy B on Wednesday, 31 March 2010
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THE CONSTRUCTION of a major dual-carriageway to bypass Ballymena, Co Antrim, is being delayed after the discovery of neolithic remains at the site.

Archaeologists have uncovered a rare late-neolithic ring fort, one of just four such forts found in Ireland.

Initial excavations took place over an eight-week period between June 2009 to September 2009, and a team of 20 archaeologists have recovered objects, including flint chippings, small blades and a leaf-shaped arrowhead.

The site was not detected in the pre-construction Environmental Impact Assessment, and discovery has caused months of delay and added significant cost to the project.

Many of the areas of archaeological interest or “hotspots” found by Archaeological Development Services during the topsoil stripping near Ballymena were isolated pits which contained burnt bone and neolithic pottery.

This meant that excavation of the cutting and construction of embankments elsewhere could not start on schedule, and the work was further delayed by wet weather in November.

A Department of Regional Development spokeswoman said: “The lengthy period of poor weather had halted excavation of the remainder of the cutting, and thus halted completion of the embankments being constructed elsewhere.”

The Department of Regional Development said it hoped the remainder of the road construction would be completed at a fast pace following completion of the cutting and construction of embankments.

Campaigners opposed to the Slane bypass in Co Meath said the discovery of the neolithic remains outside Ballymena highlighted the dangers of pressing ahead with the N2 Slane bypass.

Vincent Salafia of Save Newgrange said: “A late discovery on the N2, such as this previously undetected site at Ballymena, could lead to long delays and additional costs, and even result in a rerouting of the bypass.”

Source:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0309/1224265879312.html
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