1. Review: Hidden History Below Our Feet: The Archaeological Story of
Belfast
Originally posted online on 1 February 2012 at rmchapple.blogspot.com
(http://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/review-hidden-history-below-our-feet.html)
Ruairí Ó Baoill. Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Belfast, 2011. 199pp. ISBN 978-
0-9569671-0-7. £14.99 (via Amazon).
What do you think of when you hear the name ‘Belfast’? I’m sure some people will say
The Titanic. For others the name may conjure up images of too many years of sectarian
hatred and murder. A select band will immediately think of its heady days as a
powerhouse of Empire, with major ship building and linen works, along with a whole
host of industrial marvels. Nonetheless, I feel that most people would be imagining the
city for quite a while before they used words like ‘prehistoric’ or even ‘Medieval’. Ruairí
Ó Baoill, excavations director with the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork at QUB, has
taken on just that challenge – not only to bring together the disparate threads of the
story, but to do so in a popular format.
I realise that using the term ‘popular’ is generally considered by professionals in any
field to be something of a pejorative. It is taken to imply that the product is somehow
watered down and ineffective. At the very least, the implication is that there is nothing
here for the serious student. Hidden History Below Our Feet should not to be confused
with this category of ‘popular’. I think it would be best to describe the format as
‘engaging’ in that it is visually attractive and lavishly illustrated, but there is no
‘dumbing down’ of the scholarship within.
Chapter 1, The Prehistoric Archaeology of Belfast, begins with a map and
gazetteer of the main ancient sites known in and around the city. As the author points

2. out, the fact that the modern core of Belfast is built on low-lying, estuarine clays, and
was probably unattractive to settlers, is among the reasons that little of this period has
been recovered. However, relatively large numbers of prehistoric sites are known from
further up the Lagan Valley, as well as from the upper slopes of Black Mountain and
Cave Hill. After a brief introduction to the underlying geology and geography of the city,
Ó Baoill describes the Irish Mesolithic and how the evidence from Belfast fits within that
framework. On page 19 is the first example of a beautiful thematic device that recurs
throughout the book. This is a three-page-wide fold-out, showing an imagined aerial
view of Belfast looking south during the Mesolithic by artist Philip Armstrong. It shows
a number of small settlements, looking quite isolated among the vast forests that
covered the landscape. To be honest, my first impression of this feature was that it was
‘popular’ and definitely in the pejorative sense – nice pictures, but no archaeological
worth. However, the more I have looked at it, the more I have come to realise that it is a
powerful and eloquent statement, illustrating the relative isolation of individual families
and the fragility of their existence – and every bit as valuable and instructive as any
other was of portraying the evidence. My only quibble with this particular example is
that the houses depicted appear to be in the ‘roundhouse’ tradition, with vertical walls
and distinct, thatched roofs, as opposed to the hemispherical domes usually associated
with this period. Following this, the Neolithic is introduced and the place of Belfast is
clearly defined within it. Short individual sections are devoted to the evidence from the
Malone Ridge, Megalithic tombs, flint working etc. Similarly, the evidence for the
Bronze and Iron Ages is assessed with devoted sections on settlement, burial, the
Carrowreagh Complex, McArt’s Fort etc. The chapter concludes with a more in-depth
case study of the prehistoric complex centred on the passage tomb and henge
monument at the Giant’s Ring. Throughout the chapter there are recurring uses of the
imagined aerial view of the landscape, either as single pages or a fold-out. With a bit of
flicking back and forward between the various illustrations, I began to get a real sense of
how this landscape was changed and developed through human action across the
centuries.
Chapter 2, Early Christian Belfast, follows the same format as before with a
distribution map and gazetteer of sites. Leaving aside the caveats inherent in any form
of distribution map, it is interesting to see the locations of sites spreading from the hills
down into the Lagan Valley, but still avoiding much the low-lying slob lands. This rather
short chapter concentrates on the settlement evidence from the period, with short
sections on the raths from the Malone ridge and the wider Belfast area (especially the
Ballyaghagen site). Short sections are also devoted to souterrains, other settlement
forms (including Ballyutoag), and churches etc. The chapter concludes with a more
detailed case study on Shankill Church and Graveyard.
Chapter 3, Medieval Belfast, charts the progress of the development of Belfast from
the Anglo-Norman intervention to the early 17th century when the town was granted to
Sir Arthur Chichester. Following the distribution map and gazetteer, the historical
background and John de Courcy are introduced. This is followed up a discussion of the
Anglo-Norman settlement, its form and extent, along with the importance of the ford
across the Lagan. The historical evidence for the Late Medieval Belfast and the
Clandeboye O’Neills is skilfully blended with the archaeological record. Robert

3. Lythe’s c.1570 map of Belfast is powerfully contrasted and complimented by the
excavation photographs and recovered artefacts. The chapter closes with a more
detailed case study on the castles of Belfast.
The distribution map at the beginning of Chapter 4, C17th & C18th Belfast, shows the
further nucleation of settlement and, crucially, economic activity, moving into the core
of the city as we know it today. As a minor aside, I am curious as to why ‘non-antiquities’
are listed in the gazetteer at Knockbreckan, Mallusk, and Derriaghy. As far as I can tell,
these sites are nowhere referenced within the remainder of the chapter. As one would
expect, the chapter proper opens with a historical sketch of Sir Arthur Chichester and
his descendants, along with the troublesome O’Neills. The following section, on the mid
17th century defences is particularly interesting and Ó Baoill skilfully weaves historical
and archaeological data together. He does not just to create a compelling narrative, but
also provides a fair assessment of the state of our knowledge on the topic – what has
been found and what has yet to be uncovered. There is no ‘dumbing down’ here. True,
the historical and archaeological questions raised, not just in this instance, but across
the book, may be more complex than the space allows, but the reader will come away
with that understanding, as opposed to easy ‘just so’ answers. The chapter continues
with an introduction to the earliest accurate maps of Belfast (Phillips’ 1685 maps), along
with the challenges and opportunities that they present to the archaeologist. The section
on the archaeology of the 17th and 18th century town is an excellent piece of work and
draws together for the first time the large number of post-Medieval urban excavations in
the town. Individual sections describe the findings at High St., Waring St., Hill St.,
Gordon St., Custom house Sq., and the Downshire Pottery on the Ravenhill Rd. etc. A
sequence of short entries details some of the surviving 17 th century buildings in and
around Belfast, and the chapter is completed with a case study, focusing on the Belfast
Pothouse, which produced tin-glazed earthenware during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Chapter 5, C19th to C21st Belfast, brings the story up to date with an examination of
the textile and shipbuilding trades that made Belfast a capital of commerce. Other topics
covered include the expansion of the city throughout the 19 th century and the impact of
the potato famine of the 1840s. There is a delightful entry on the burgeoning of
antiquarian interest in the city at this time, and the lasting contributions made by such
notables as Frances Joseph Bigger, George Benn, and Robert M. Young. This is followed
by a series of short entries on the most notable of the urban excavations, including St.
Anne’s Square, Cotton Court, Hill St., Gordon St. etc. Excavations of industrial sites
include entries on the Annadale Brickworks and a clay-pipe manufactory at Winetavern
St., while further entries discuss some of the investigations of the city’s docks, including
Lime Kiln Dock and May’s Dock. The final case study examines the Ballymacarrett
Glassworks. Again, excavation photographs, examples of the products made there, along
with historic maps and photographs are woven together to produce an accessible and
educational whole.
In a final concluding page, Ó Baoill asks ‘what have the nearly 100 excavations carried
out between 1981-2008 told us about the story of Belfast?’ Frankly, if anyone reading
this book is still asking this question by the end, they have not been paying attention. Ó
Baoill stresses the advances in our knowledge that have been made and how these

4. excavations give us insights in to the lives and material culture of the inhabitants that
historical sources alone simply cannot. He deftly describes the future challenges for
archaeology within the city – establishing the locations and degree of preservation of the
major buildings of Medieval Belfast. While he acknowledges the challenges that lie
ahead, he is essentially hopeful that archaeology has still much to contribute to our
knowledge of our city and ourselves. The book also contains appendices, listing the
archaeological sites of unknown date in Belfast and its environs, a comprehensive list of
the archaeological excavations carried out in the city between 1981 and summer 2008,
the latter with location maps. A final appendix is a glossary of terms used within the text
– equally as useful for the novice as the more seasoned enthusiast.
For myself, the sad fact that this publication highlights is that of these nearly 100
excavations, only eight have been comprehensively published. Admittedly, some are like
my own small-scale investigation at The ‘Prince’s Buildings’ on Ann St., where some late
wall footings of no particular significance were uncovered across a number of test pits.
Nonetheless, there are a number of large-scale excavations that deserve to see full
publication. It is not just that without formal publication these sites will languish as
‘grey literature’, known only to a small band of dedicated researchers. These sites
deserve to be more fully integrated into our collective knowledge not just of the city of
Belfast, but as part of the broader canvases of Ireland and Empire. If for no other
reason, Ó Baoill is to be congratulated for starting this process and highlighting the
volume of data available. He is to be doubly congratulated on the depth of his research,
for the first time bringing all this information together in a single volume. Beyond this,
he has managed to carefully integrate the historical and archaeological narratives in a
pleasing, readable style. As I have said before, there is no ‘dumbing down’ at work in this
volume, just clear, concise writing in an educating and entertaining manner. Ó Baoill,
and everyone else involved in its production, is to be congratulated for producing a
mentally stimulating and visually exciting book. I can happily commend it to both
professional archaeologists and interested amateurs alike – we all have something to
learn from this beautiful and inspiring book.
Note: Belfast City Council and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, in
partnership with Tandem Design, have produced a website to promote the book, where
you can see sample pages, learn a little more about the author, and purchase a copy.
They also have a dedicated Facebook Page and a Twitter feed.