Time Team tell all!
Submitted by coldrum on Saturday, 17 January 2009 Page Views: 11795
Iron Age and Later PrehistoryCountry: Ireland (Northern) County: Co. Antrim Type: Promontory Fort / Cliff CastleInternal Links:
Cairncastle is about to star in its own TV programme!
The area will feature in an episode of Channel 4's Time Team following a dig carried out last year, the programme to be broadcast on 18th January.
News of that Time Team was heading to one of our most historic districts was reported by the Larne Gazette in August 2008.
It was subsequently announced that September how the Team had uncovered a number of ancient artefacts, some dating back to 2,000 BC, whilst excavating a site on the Ballycoose Road area.
There was considerable excitement in the district as it emerged that, as well as these artefacts and significant quantities of flint, the remains of a village and a considerable number of houses had been uncovered.
Tony Robinson, who presents the long-running show, stayed in Larne while the Team, consisting of about 52 members, made what were believed to be Bronze Age discoveries at Knockdhu within their traditional three-day deadline.
The popular presenter, actor, writer and history enthusiast, along with a collection of top experts, will reveal what happened during their Cairncastle dig in the forthcoming hour-long programme.
At the time, a search at the site was expected to continue for up to six weeks.
The dig was completed and earthworks subsequently restored by a team from Queen's University.
Find is unique in this area
Furthermore, the Knockdhu find is unique in this area as the dwellings discovered did indeed prove to be Bronze Age and not, as similar finds had, from the suceeding Iron Age.
It was announced at the time that efforts had focused on some of the richly historical area's outlying ditches and barrows.
Part of an ancient fortification at the site was also amongst the range of intriguing remains investigated.
The project was undertaken as a partnership between Time Team, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Queen's University of Belfast Archaeology Centre.
Speaking to the Larne Gazette last year, Dr Collam Donnelly of Queen's University explained how, after deciding to investigate this site for the programme, they "set about digging a huge trench across the ditches, etc.
“Under the direction of my colleague, Dr Philip McDonald, our targets were to try and find where the entrance to the fort would have been, what date these dwellings were from, and what defences would have been used at the fort."
Indications were that this part of Knockdhu "may have at one time been a village."
The hypothesis they were working on was that this village would have been occupied during the Bronze Age and, if so, this would be a "fairly major find."
Excavations were carried out on land belonging to Campbell Tweed.
Excavations
Speaking to the Gazette at the time, Mr Tweed described how he had been approached by Time Team earlier that year.
He also discussed the work then being carried out, saying, "They are working at the top of Knockdhu, where there is part of a fortification around there, with the town boundary line just inside that, and are also looking around my neighbour Tommy Stewart's fields."
He thought they had gained a "good understanding of what the western side's defences were."
He continued, "The outer bank is clad in stone, and has remnants of postholes on the top of the wall.
“On Tommy's site, they have found at least 14 house sites and, from what I understand, they believe there may be up to 40 of these.
“The findings seem to date back as far as 1,500 to 2,000 BC."
This Channel 4 Time Team broadcast featuring Knockdhu, Cairncastle, is scheduled for Sunday 18th January 2009.
The first programme was broadcast on 4th January and was from Friars Wash, Flamstead, St Albans, Hertfordshire (The trouble with Temples). The next episode will be shown on 11th January 2009 when the programme will feature Scargill Castle, County Durham (The wedding present).
And the 18th January edition features Knockdhu, Cairncastle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland (Heroes' Hill).
Time Team is broadcast on Channel 4 each Sunday at 5.40pm.
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