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Shell midden is a midden located in the Ards peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland, at grid reference J497116. The site is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference number 16104.
Shell middens are accumulations of discarded mollusc shells and other food debris, marking places where coastal or riverine communities processed and consumed shellfish. They typically contain shells of mussels, oysters, cockles and other molluscs, often mixed with bone, charcoal and cultural material. Such sites are invaluable for understanding diet, settlement patterns and exploitation of marine resources in prehistoric and historic periods.
At this location, the underlying bedrock belongs to the Armagh Group, Visean limestone formations that include interbedded limestone, argillaceous rocks and subordinate sandstone. This geology reflects the shallow marine environment of the Carboniferous period. The Ards peninsula's geography made it a productive zone for shellfish gathering, and middens such as this provide evidence of human economic activity and subsistence strategies along the Irish coast.
Shell midden is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 16104. View the official record →
Shell midden is a midden located in the Ards peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland, at grid reference J497116.
Shell midden is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 16104.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Stone fish trap (2.3 km), Bivallate rath & possible souterrain (4.1 km), 2 portions of quay works and slipway (4.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Shell midden's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Shell midden stands on Armagh Group, bedrock that formed in the Visean. The rock here is limestone, argillaceous rocks and subordinate sandstone, interbedded.