Dig It! at Ballynahatty, County Down 2026

We’re excited to share the first of this year’s Dig It! competitions!

Three lucky winners will be heading to Ballynahatty, County Down, Northern Ireland on Saturday 20th June 2026. Winners will be hosted by the team at Queens University Belfast and will be exploring an incredible prehistoric henge site dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Age.

During their Dig It! with YAC day, our winners will have the opportunity to experience a range of field-based tasks such as digging, washing finds, and learning other archaeological skills too – in fact, they’ll learn what being an archaeologist is really like!

What’s the history of the site?

The Centre for Community Archaeology, Queen’s University Belfast,, will be carrying out a four-week investigation into the Prehistoric Ritual Complex at Ballynahatty, Co. Down. Our archaeologists will be trying to unlock the secrets of this landscape and date and interpret features identified through aerial photography and drone survey.

Dominated by a large henge (known locally as the ‘Giant’s Ring’), the Ballynahatty landscape has long been recognised as a special place dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Chance discoveries over the past 200 years have identified numerous burials and structures dating to over 5,000 years ago, but surprisingly few modern archaeological excavations have taken place. One exception to this was a series of excavations which took place in the 1990s by QUB’s Barrie Hartwell who investigated a large timber enclosure and excarnation platform (used for the processing of dead bodies where the corpse was laid out and left so that the elements and wildlife removed the flesh, the bones being later collected and buried) which dated to the Late Neolithic c.2500 BC.

The current excavation will concentrate on a field to the north-west of Hartwell’s investigation. Numerous circular features are identifiable in aerial photographs of this area although at this stage we do not know what they represent or how they tie in with the surrounding archaeology.

What else will I win?

Once again, we will be offering every winner an £80 bursary made possible by the Marsh Charitable Trust to help cover the costs of travel, accommodation and/or subsistence (your lunch!). These bursaries are designed to break down barriers to participation by helping cover the cost of attending for young people engaging with archaeology, making it easier for them to take part in life-changing fieldwork opportunities.

And that’s not all! Each winner will also receive a satchel of archaeological tools, including your own trowel, brush, magnifier and everything you need to record your finds. This fantastic prize has been donated by our friends at Past Horizons.

How do I enter the competition?

To be in with a chance of winning you will need to answer the following question:

What is the local name from the large henge at Ballynahatty?

  1. The giant’s necklace
  2. The giant’s ring
  3. The giant’s house

Please Note:

  • Each winner must be accompanied by a responsible adult on the day
  • Winners must be aged 8-16 AND a member of YAC
  • Parental/carer permission is required to enter.
  • The deadline to enter is 31st May.

Please read our terms and conditions before entering.

Click here to enter the competition! https://form.jotform.com/261384560410350

Good Luck!!!