In October 2007, Time team together with the Environment and Heritage Services of Northern Ireland and Queen’s University Belfast investigated the structural remains of the O’Neill castle and the fortified town and searched for evidence of prehistoric occupation at this complex and fascinating site.
Four trenches were opened across the hill slope to investigate topographic and geophysical features.
One of the trenches provided possible evidence for a 17th Century earthen military fort.
Another trench located a deep wide ditch which may be one of the ditches shown by Richard Bartlett’s map commissioned in 1602:
The most exciting discovery was at the summit of the hill where archaeologists uncovered two stretches of wall. The first of these is some 2 meters thick with base batter and may represent the foundations of O’Neill Castle.
In Pennar’s survey of 1619, it is reported that Sir Arthur Chichester constructed a new fort of stone and lime with 4 bastions, some 120 x 120 feet in dimension.
A sketch accompanying Pennar’s report shows a tall tower surrounded by 4 bastions.It would seem therefore that the archaeologists have unearthed Chichesters’s fort.
While contemporary accounts suggest that O’Neill Castle had been demolished by this time, it might be the case that either foundations had been used for the footings of a new tower by Chichester or that Chichester remodeled the old Castle and placed it as the central part of his new fort.
Located directly beside this was a spear shaped bastion of probable early 17th Century date.
Other finds include a piece of flint that points to human activity 6000 years ago, lead musket shots and a stoneware flagon (drinking vessel) dating back to the late 16th or early 17th Century. Jon Willers from Time Team believes that the stoneware flagon originated in Germany: “This is a high status piece. Who knows, maybe it was used by Hugh O’Neill of Arthur Chichester”.
A full report on the findings of these exploratory excavations will be available by mid to- late January 2008.
