Ballyharry

Ballyharry Irish: Baile h-Araidh
Ballyharry Location within Northern Ireland
County	County Antrim
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LARNE
Postcode district	BT40
Dialling code	028

Ballyharry (/ˌbæliˈhæri/; Irish: Baile h-Araidh) is a townland on Islandmagee, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The townland covers approximately 224 acres and is notable for a group of well-preserved Neolithic settlement remains, including two substantial Neolithic houses investigated during archaeological excavations in the 1990s.

The archaeological remains at Ballyharry provide evidence for settlement during the Irish Neolithic, including successive phases of domestic architecture and a substantial assemblage of pottery, flint and polished stone artefacts.

The townland lies within the civil parish of Islandmagee and the historic barony of Belfast Lower.

Name

The Irish name associated with Ballyharry is Baile h-Araidh. The place-name has been interpreted as meaning "town of the charioteer", although the etymology has also been treated with some uncertainty in published place-name resources.

Location and landscape

Ballyharry is situated on the Islandmagee peninsula in County Antrim. The townland forms part of a landscape containing archaeological evidence from several periods, reflecting the long-term occupation and use of the peninsula.

The archaeological importance of Ballyharry is particularly associated with its Neolithic settlement remains. Two well-preserved houses were identified during archaeological monitoring associated with the construction of the Belfast Transmission Pipeline. The houses were located relatively close to one another, with the second approximately 400 metres south of the first.

Neolithic settlement

• Ballyharry 1

The first of the two major Neolithic structures, designated Ballyharry 1 or Site 4, was excavated in 1996. Archaeological evidence indicated that the building had undergone several phases of construction and modification.

The earliest phase consisted of a subcircular structure defined by a series of well-preserved post-holes. During a subsequent phase, the building was redesigned as a rectangular, single-roomed structure. Evidence for an ancillary building was identified to the north of the main structure.

A third phase involved the addition of a second room with an apsidal northern end. A fourth phase was represented by a series of pits associated with the later occupation of the site.

The sequence indicates that the structure was not a single-period building but was repeatedly modified and rebuilt. This makes Ballyharry 1 significant for the study of the development and changing use of domestic architecture during the Irish Neolithic.

• Ballyharry 2

The second structure, designated Ballyharry 2 or Site 5, was located approximately 400 metres south of Ballyharry 1.

The building was rectangular in plan. Well-preserved foundation gullies indicated that its walls had been constructed using posts and planks. The excavation recovered Neolithic pottery and fragments of polished stone axes.

Unlike Ballyharry 1, much of Ballyharry 2 was preserved in situ. Only areas directly threatened by development were excavated, following cooperation between the developer, the Department of the Environment's Environment and Heritage Service, and the archaeological investigators.

Archaeological finds

The excavations at Ballyharry produced a substantial assemblage of artefacts associated with Neolithic domestic activity.

Finds from Ballyharry 1 included several thousand fragments of Western Neolithic pottery, flint arrowheads and javelin heads, fragments of polished stone axes, quernstones and rubbers.

The pottery assemblage is particularly significant because it provides evidence for domestic activity at the settlement and contributes to the wider archaeological understanding of Neolithic pottery traditions in Ireland.

The presence of quernstones and rubbers provides evidence for the processing of plant or other materials, while polished stone axes and flint projectile points represent additional elements of the material culture associated with the settlement.

1996 excavations

The two principal Ballyharry houses were investigated in 1996 by Norman Crothers of Archaeological Development Services Ltd. The excavation records classify both sites as Neolithic houses and date them broadly to the Neolithic period, approximately 4000–2501 BC.

The discovery of the houses was associated with archaeological monitoring of the Belfast Transmission Pipeline. The work demonstrated the importance of archaeological monitoring during infrastructure construction, since previously unrecorded prehistoric settlement remains were identified along the pipeline route.

The preservation of substantial structural remains at Ballyharry made it possible to examine aspects of Neolithic building techniques, internal organization and rebuilding practices that are not always preserved at prehistoric settlement sites.

2003 research

The Ballyharry houses were subsequently examined in the context of wider research into Neolithic settlement in Ireland and western Britain. Dermot G. Moore contributed a study entitled Neolithic houses in Ballyharry townland, Islandmagee, Co. Antrim to the volume Neolithic Settlement in Ireland and Western Britain, published in 2003.

The study placed Ballyharry within a broader archaeological discussion of Neolithic domestic architecture and settlement patterns in Ireland. Ballyharry 1, in particular, provides evidence for a sequence in which a subrectangular or subcircular structure was modified and expanded through successive phases.

Ballyharry Farm investigation, 2004

A separate archaeological investigation was undertaken at Ballyharry Farm between 12 February and 26 March 2004. The work was carried out by the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork at Queen's University Belfast on behalf of the Environment and Heritage Service.

The investigation was prompted by the proposed construction of a replacement dwelling adjacent to St John's Church. Earlier testing of the area had identified chipped and worked stone and other indications of prehistoric activity.

The excavation trench measured approximately 17 metres east–west by 9 metres, with extensions to the south. The northern part of the trench could not be fully excavated because of the presence of a sewer pipe.

The investigation added further archaeological evidence to the already significant prehistoric record of the Ballyharry townland and demonstrated that archaeological remains extended beyond the two houses identified during the earlier pipeline works.

St John's Church and later archaeology

Ballyharry also contains St John's Church, a historic church situated close to the shore of Larne Lough. Archaeological investigations at the church in 2002 identified burials beneath the central aisle, including an articulated burial and disturbed human remains. The church is thought to date to the late 16th century, with substantial renovation carried out in 1827–1828.

A report on the 2004 Ballyharry Farm excavation notes that the presence of a burial ground close to the church has led to suggestions that the present church may occupy the site of an earlier ecclesiastical centre. The same report records evidence for activity around the church and nearby historic landscape, including a small quay constructed in 1831 and used for the shipment of limestone and lime.

The archaeological evidence at Ballyharry therefore spans several periods, from Neolithic settlement through the post-medieval and modern use of the landscape.

Archaeological significance

The Ballyharry houses are significant examples of Neolithic domestic architecture in Ireland. Their preservation allows archaeologists to examine construction methods, architectural changes and patterns of rebuilding within a prehistoric settlement context.

Ballyharry 1 is particularly notable for its multiple phases of construction. The transition from an earlier post-built structure to a rectangular building and subsequent addition of an apsidal-ended room illustrates changes in the organization and use of domestic space.

The associated artefact assemblage, including pottery, flint tools, polished stone axes, quernstones and rubbers, provides additional evidence for the activities carried out at the settlement and contributes to the wider study of Neolithic lifeways in Ireland.

The survival of Ballyharry 2 also demonstrates the importance of archaeological preservation. Because much of the second house was not directly threatened by development, it was largely preserved rather than completely excavated.

See also

• Neolithic Ireland
• Prehistoric Ireland
• List of archaeological sites in County Antrim
• List of townlands in County Antrim
• Islandmagee

Further reading

• Moore, Dermot G. (2003). "Neolithic houses in Ballyharry townland, Islandmagee, Co. Antrim". In Armit, Ian; Murphy, Eileen M.; Nelis, Eiméar; Simpson, Derek (eds.), Neolithic Settlement in Ireland and Western Britain. Oxbow Books, pp. 157–163.
• Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, Queen's University Belfast. Ballyharry Farm, Ballyharry, County Antrim.
• Crothers, Norman. Archaeological excavation reports for Ballyharry 1 and Ballyharry 2, 1996.