Ballynahatty, County Down

Ballynahatty (from Irish Baile na hÁite Tí, meaning 'townland of the house site')[1] is a townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the southern edge of Belfast. It contains the Giants Ring, a henge monument, consisting of a circular enclosure, 200m in diameter, surrounded with a 4m high earthwork bank with five entrances, and a small neolithic passage grave slightly off-centre. The Giant's Ring is a State Care Historic Monument at grid ref: J3272 6770.[2]

The remains of a woman who was part of a Neolithic farming community were discovered buried in the henge in 1855. Now known as Ballynahatty woman, her genome was sequenced in 2015 and reveals a woman with black hair and brown eyes typical of those with Mediterranean heritage. This implies that Ballynahatty woman was part of a group of early European farmers that migrated across Europe in the Neolithic period, originating in the Middle East.

Ballynahatty is also a townland, in the parish of Drumragh, County Tyrone.

References

  1. ↑ "Celebrating Ulster's Townlands - Place Names in County Down". Ulster Place Names. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
  2. ↑ "Ballynahatty" (PDF). Environment and Heritage Service NI - State Care Historic Monuments. Retrieved 2007-12-03.

Coordinates: 54°32′32″N 5°57′24″W / 54.54222°N 5.95667°W / 54.54222; -5.95667

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