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AR01055_EMAP_Gazetteer_of_Sites_4-2_10.pdf - The Heritage ...

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Down<br />

Ballywillwill, Co. Down<br />

Early Medieval Settlement Enclosures.<br />

Grid Refs: J35184154 (33518/34154); J35584145 (33558/34145)<br />

SMR Nos: DOW 036:025; DOW 036:024<br />

Excavation Licence: N/A<br />

Excavation Duration: July 1951<br />

Site Director: D.M. Waterman & A.E.P. Collins (for the Archaeological Survey <strong>of</strong> Northern<br />

Ireland).<br />

<strong>The</strong> site consists <strong>of</strong> two counterscarp enclosures (Ballywillwill I (internal dimensions <strong>of</strong> 30m by<br />

25.5m) and Ballywillwill II (36m)) located within 400m <strong>of</strong> each other. Both sites were set on the<br />

points <strong>of</strong> promontories <strong>of</strong> a drumlin ridge; and both were excavated in 1951 as part <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Archaeological Survey <strong>of</strong> Northern Ireland.<br />

<strong>The</strong> internal and external banks at Ballywillwill I both had stone revetments, and incorporated a welldefined<br />

gateway. Excavation revealed the presence <strong>of</strong> two shallow postholes which would have held<br />

the gate posts (Fig. 91).<br />

Excavation <strong>of</strong> the interior <strong>of</strong> Ballywillwill I revealed a complex <strong>of</strong> dry-stone-walled features, including<br />

a possible hut site, a souterrain, and an enigmatic passageway.<br />

A substantial amount <strong>of</strong> souterrain ware was found on site, as well as two fragments <strong>of</strong> corroded<br />

bronze and a stone spindle whorl.<br />

Excavation <strong>of</strong> Ballywillwill II revealed that the site had been severely truncated by lazy-bed cultivation<br />

and no structural features were apparent. A number <strong>of</strong> sherds <strong>of</strong> souterrain ware were recovered<br />

from the site suggesting it was contemporaneous with Ballywillwill I.<br />

Fig. 91: Plan <strong>of</strong> entrance and structures at Ballywillwill I, Co. Down (after Waterman & Collins 1952,<br />

76).<br />

Reference:<br />

Waterman, D. M. & Collins, A. E. P. 1952. <strong>The</strong> excavation <strong>of</strong> two raths at Ballywillwill, Co. Down.<br />

Ulster Journal <strong>of</strong> Archaeology (Third Series), 15, 71–83.<br />

189

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