Down the Road: A Road to the Past. Vol. 1. The Archaeology of the A1 Road Schemes Between Lisburn and Newbry 1

Major developments by TransportNI have seen the A1 between Lisburn and the border with the Republic of Ireland upgraded. These developments presented an opportunity for archaeologists to uncover and investigate many features that were previously hidden. A large number of archaeological sites were recorded. These sites were both domestic and funerary, and ranged in date from the Mesolithic (8000–4000 BC) to the present day. The excavations shed light on the nature of the dwellings the people lived in, the burial practices undertaken, the domestic and funerary artefacts they used, and on a few of sites the jewellery and ornamentation worn. This volume encapsulates the essence of the archaeological sites recorded, and provides a detailed summary of the findings of the 200 or so archaeologists who worked on the Road Scheme. To bring life to the archaeology detailed reconstruction drawings of both the artefacts and the most significant sites have been provided by artist Philip Armstrong. Acknowledgements vii Foreword xi Introduction 1 Environmental History 5 The First Settlers 13 The Neolithic 21 The Bronze Age 47 The Iron Age 101 Early Medieval Period 113 Medieval Period 133 Post-medieval to the present day 141 Conclusions 151 Chapter Notes 154 Tables 158 Radiocarbon Dates 161 List of Archaeological Excavation Sites 173 Bibliography 176