Damage to historic site 'a significant loss to society'
Dr Paul Logue, from the Department for Communities, says the damage is "one of the very worst I've ever seen"
- Published
A Coleraine farmer has been fined tens of thousands of pounds over damage to an ancient and protected historic monument.
Dunmull Hillfort, which is on private farming land, is one of 2,000 monuments in Northern Ireland protected by law.
The Department for Communities said the hillfort is an ancient royal site where regional Ulster kings ruled for about 1,500 years, with other parts dating back to the Stone Age.
"The damage caused by the defendant is serious and represents a significant loss to society," it said.
Richard McClure, 40, pleaded guilty at Antrim Crown Court for the damage last year and was issued with a £25,000 fine in August.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) told BBC News NI they were made aware of building works taking place in the Ballyhome Road area of Coleraine in 2021.
"Upon reviewing the site, it became evident to officers that extensive digging works were being carried out without prior legal consent, and a breach of the Historic Monuments and Archaeological Objects (NI) Order 1995 had occurred."
Failure to get the proper permissions or unlawfully disturbing them can lead to a court summons and a fine.
'Heritage is finite'
Dunmull Hill is a few miles from Dunluce Castle on the north coast
Dunmull Hill is rural and isolated, just a few miles from Dunluce Castle on the north coast, but has historical importance.
Dr Paul Logue, from the Department for Communities, said the damage, which was primarily the digging of trenches, was some of the most serious he had ever seen.
"A colleague of mine, it reduced them to tears when they saw it," he said.
"The damage was shocking. There were ancient ramparts there from a royal site of about 1,500 years old, about 40% of those had been damaged or wiped out."
Dr Logue said damage was also caused to parts of the site which were about 6,000 years old.
"Heritage is finite, and I always liken it to if you go to a protected ancient monument and destroy bits of it, it's the same thing as taking a book out of a library that no one has ever read and burning that book, and people will then never know the story that's in there."
'It's lost forever'
Archaeologist Dr Patrick Gleeson, QUB, says "when sites are damaged like this, we can never get that information back"
Dr Patrick Gleeson, an archaeologist at Queen's University Belfast, believes it is important to point out this is a loss not just for historians and archaeologists, but for all.
"When sites are damaged like this, we can never get that information back. It's lost forever," he said.
"The information that lay in the ground for generations is now destroyed and no longer available to us."
Dr Gleeson said the overriding feeling was "frustration".
"There's a huge number of sites in the landscape in Northern Ireland that aren't adequately studied, or aren't adequately understood," he said.
"That's not to say that they're not important, but that is why we protect things."
He added: "It's a loss to the entire society and community that might have or want to have a connection to that place."
'It's rare to say no'
Special permission must be sought before any works are carried out on scheduled monuments to protect them from damage
Dr Logue said the department does not want to stand in the way of modern life and will try to work with landowners to allow work to take place.
"We try to work with people, we understand there's modern pressure in life if you're a farmer or businessperson," he said.
"We'll always try to get people what they need, and there can be compromise and sometimes we might have to say no, but it's rare to say no.
"Heritage can't be in the way of people trying to live their lives. There are some instances though where people will not obey the law and those are the sort of people we have to take forward towards the courts."