Mesolithic Site in Ireland Destroyed by Construction

DUNDONALD, NORTHERN IRELAND—A rare archaeological site at Ballymaglaff that had yielded more than 2,000 pieces of struck flint from the Mesolithic period has been badly damaged by the construction of a road into a new housing development. The site was discovered in 1984 by local historian Peter Carr, and had been listed on the Department of the Environment’s Sites and Monuments record. “Over 20 of the period’s rare and highly distinctive microliths have been discovered here. Very few sites can claim over ten,” Carr told The Belfast Telegraph. Much of the archaeological layer was left in spoil heaps near the new road, but they have since been redistributed. Excavation of the site could have produced evidence of dwellings and fireplaces. “If the department gets its act together, material could still be salvaged from what remains of the heaps,” Carr said.