Ballynahatty, County Down

This article is about the townland in County Down. For other uses, see Ballynahatty.

Countryside at Ballynahatty

Ballynahatty (from Irish Baile na hÁite Tí '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.[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 (EEFs) that migrated across Europe in the Neolithic period, originating in the Middle East.

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

References

1. "Celebrating Ulster's Townlands - Place Names in County Down". Ulster Place Names. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2007.
2. "Ballynahatty" (PDF). Environment and Heritage Service NI - State Care Historic Monuments. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2007.

54°32′32″N 5°57′24″W