Daniel Kirkpatrick

The seaside town of Portrush, off the North coast of Northern Ireland, has become well known for its world famous golf, beautiful beaches, surfing, and fantastic restaurants – not for its ancient history. But a groundbreaking discovery in 2002 revealed a Bronze Age settlement which has reshaped our understanding of prehistoric life in Ireland.

Known as Corrstown, this expansive village was unearthed during excavations ahead of a new housing development and has since revealed a complex, well-organized community that thrived between approximately 1550 and 1150 BC. With over 74 roundhouse platforms, a network of cobbled roads and metalled pathways, and the largest pottery assemblage recorded from a Bronze Age site in Ireland, Corrstown stands as a testament to the ingenuity and social sophistication of its people.

Bronze Age Corrstown

The story of Corrstown began with subtle hints captured in aerial photographs – a circular feature emerging in a heavily cultivated field near Hopefield Road, Portrush. Initially, the feature was dismissed as a natural anomaly, until further geophysical surveys revealed traces of structured enclosures and roundhouse platforms. In 2002, an excavation was launched, uncovering an astonishing array of Bronze Age structures. Over 74 roundhouses were identified, many arranged in pairs or short rows, linked by a network of roads that provided both connectivity and organization to the settlement.

Radiocarbon dating of organic materials from the site indicates that Corrstown experienced three distinct phases. The initial growth phase commenced after approximately 1550 BC, followed by a prolonged period of occupation lasting around 200 years. Finally, a decline phase began around 1150 BC, marking the end of the settlement’s usage, at least at the same scale. The causes of the eventual decline of the settlement remain unknown, but it comes at time when population growth led to greater demand for resources and the development of greater fortified communities in the many hillforts.¹ Regardless, this multi-phased occupation suggests a dynamic community capable of sustaining large-scale, long-term habitation covering centuries of Irish history.

Town Planners

Corrstown’s layout is both complex and meticulously planned. The majority of the 74 roundhouses – typical structures of the Bronze Age – were clustered around a prominent, large cobbled roadway. This primary road extended beyond the settlement’s perimeter, indicating that Corrstown was not isolated but integrated into a broader regional network of trade and communication. Smaller metalled paths radiated from the entrances of the roundhouses onto the main roadway, providing direct access to individual homes and likely serving as markers of family or clan territories.

The architecture of these roundhouses varied slightly in plan, with many displaying circular or oval shapes. This diversity in form suggests a degree of local variation or perhaps different functions within the settlement. In addition to the houses, the archaeological record reveals numerous pits and enclosures that may have been used for storage, craft production, or communal gatherings.

Material Culture and Daily Life

Assuming around 4-8 lived in each household, that would mean a population of 300-600 people, a sizeable settlement which would have required a significant industry and agriculture. Unsurprisingly then, one of the most striking aspects of Corrstown is its impressive assemblage of pottery. Excavations have recovered around 9,000 sherds representing nearly 449 vessels – by far the largest assemblage of Bronze Age pottery identified in an Irish settlement to date. These ceramics range from coarse domestic wares to finer, decorated vessels that hint at ritual or high-status use. Recent organic residue analyses on a subsample of sherds have provided insights into the diet and culinary practices of Corrstown’s inhabitants, offering tantalizing clues about their everyday lives:

“[A]nalysis of the Corrstown pottery assemblage may suggest continuity in practice from the Neolithic, where the processing of secondary products, such as milk, butter and cheese, remained fundamental to how ceramic vessels were utilised.”²

In other words, we can see evidence of dairy farming and all the associated industry which comes with that; tanning, leatherworking, sewing, farming, and so on.

The settlement also yielded significant lithic materials, with over 165,000 flint pieces recovered from various contexts. These tools underscore the community’s reliance on both locally available raw materials and specialized craft production. Among the notable finds were a large stone macehead from within one of the structures and a mould for a Middle Bronze Age palstave axe – artifacts that would have either had to have been produced in the community, or (more likely) were traded for other goods reinforcing the evidence for a strong trade network at this time. Indeed, one Bronze Age axe previously discovered in Portrush can be traced back to a mould discovered some 76miles away in Ballynahinch.³

The Broader Landscape

Corrstown is not an isolated phenomenon. but its discovery has challenged previous assumptions about Bronze Age settlement patterns in Ireland and Britain. Unlike the traditional view of scattered, isolated roundhouses, Corrstown demonstrates that large, complex villages existed, complete with structured road networks and evidence of communal organisation. My own research on the ancient highways across Ireland places one of the centres of political and economic power at this time just along the coastline at Dunseverick castle. It’s not a great leap in logic to assume these communities were likely connected economically and politically.

Relevance to Contemporary Ireland

The Bronze Age settlement at Corrstown Portrush stands as a transformative discovery in Irish archaeology. With its extensive network of roundhouses, sophisticated roadway system, and unparalleled pottery assemblage, Corrstown challenges conventional views of prehistoric village life and underscores the complexity of Bronze Age communities. Its legacy not only enriches our understanding of ancient Ireland but also inspires contemporary heritage, education, and sustainable community practices.

For me, the settlement has a much more personal significance. One historian who I frequently cite summed up my view neatly when in 1939 he described Portrush saying “there is not a great deal of history about this place” almost sorrowfully.⁴ But this Bronze Age discovery has given me a much deeper sense of connection to Portrush, to a place that has ancient historical roots dating back over 3,500 years. So when I walk the sandy beaches and enjoy my next ice-cream, I’ll be able to wonder at the people who fished and sailed these shores long before Ireland was ever conceived of as a nation.

To find out more about my writing journey please click here or to contact me, see here.

1. Laurence Flanagan (2000), Ancient Ireland, p157. ↩︎
2. https://www.ria.ie/assets/uploads/2025/03/arch-report-whats-cooking.pdf ↩︎
3. Flanagan, p188. ↩︎
4. Richard Hayward (1939), In Praise of Ulster, p115. ↩︎