ballywee early christian settlement

Already settled in the Stone Age. An oval-shaped bank encloses a variety of houses and souterrains, which have only been partially excavated and which are, therefore, not easy to follow on the ground.

The bank at the northern end may have been designed to deflect water coming from springs higher up the slopes which, even today, create drainage problems. One notable house at the southern end has a stone-paved floor, a central hearth and its own souterrains.

Traces of other buildings and souterrains show that this was a closely knit settlement of Early Christian times, to which period it can be assigned on the basis of the excavated finds, which included pottery, iron and finely decorated bronze buckle.