Home-schooled children help uncover mystery of lost building

A group of home-educated children have been getting their hands dirty as they help archaeologists uncover the remains of a mysterious building.

The youngsters swapped their usual lessons for an archaeological dig, working alongside experts to discover what lies beneath the ground.

The building, which appeared on an 18th-century map before disappearing from later records, has left researchers searching for answers about its original purpose.

For the children, the experience offered a chance to learn about history outside their usual setting, while taking part in a real archaeological investigation.

The project partners Ballycastle Museum with Queen's University Belfast and the Community Archaeology Programme Northern Ireland (CAPNI).

These hands-on community excavation sessions pair professional archaeologists with local school groups, home-schooled children, and adult volunteers.

For this session the young group joined archaeologists in Ballycastle, County Antrim, where researchers are investigating the remains of a building shown on a map from 1786.

The structure had disappeared from maps by the 1830s, leaving its history largely unknown.

Researchers believe it may have been connected to the town's industrial past, potentially forming part of a bleach yard associated with businessman Hugh Boyd.

QUB professor Dr Colm Donnelly is leading the excavation and hopes it will reveal more about the building's original purpose.

"Ballycastle was a real industrial centre in and around 1750," he said.

The team is investigating whether the remains could be linked to the town's industrial past, although the building's precise function remains unclear.

"So what was this building used for? We're not sure," he said.

Among the discoveries so far is evidence of a brick floor, which could offer further clues about the site.

Donnelly said the project was also about "involving the community to study the past of their community".

He described the children as "the next generation who will be the custodians of our heritage".

Donnelly said the project was also about "teaching them the importance of our built heritage and our archeological heritage".

He said introducing children to archaeology was an important way of encouraging them to take an interest in their local history.

The aim was to help younger generations understand the significance of preserving the area's heritage, he added.

Among the home-schooled children taking part was Jude, who is no stranger to archaeology having previously taken part in a dig at another location.

He said he had already uncovered "some slate, iron, coal" during the excavation.

Jude said he enjoys being outdoors and getting the opportunity to take part in the excavation.

But there is one discovery he would particularly like to make - a "dinosaur bone".

However, he admitted: "I don't think I'm going to find that."

Tobin is also among the children taking part in the excavation and is hopeful he will uncover something interesting.

"What I'm hoping to find is a key, or some bricks or an arrowhead," he said.

Asked whether taking part in the excavation had made him more interested in history, Tobin said: "It does in this bit, getting out here is actually quite fun."

Catherine McDaid, whose children are home-schooled, said it was a "great experience for them", particularly as it offered an opportunity to learn something new outdoors.

She said the children could meet others of different ages and learn about potential careers, while being "hands on and not just reading books or TV and screens".

Another parent, Linda Gibson, said the practical experience helped children understand history in a way that reading about it might not.

She said it brought "the whole experience to life" and gave children the opportunity to interact with archaeologists and other professionals.

Linda said her daughter was interested in studying history and believed learning about the places children live in was particularly important.

She said "local history is as, if not more valuable" than studying events further away.

Nick Wright, project officer for Ballycastle Museum, said the excavation was an opportunity to get more local people involved in exploring the town's history.

"Community excavations are a great way of getting people actively involved, actually getting dirt under their fingers," he said.

Despite wet weather during the first two days of the project this week, Wright said the children and adult volunteers had continued working on the site.

"It was very wet, very mucky, but you know, the kids that we had on site yesterday and our adult volunteers, they just persevered through it," he said.

He added: "It's so important for the community to really understand their local history, to understand who they are and their own identity."