Finnis souterrain, also known locally as Binder's Cove, is an excavated

drystone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their construction m ...

souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ''sous terrain'', meaning "under ground") is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought north ...

in Finnis ( ga, Fionnais), south of Dromara, County Down, Northern Ireland. The site is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

and is one of only a few souterrains open to the public.

Structure

The site is made up of a long main passage that runs east to west, with two long side passages on the right hand side that open into small chambers. All three passages are approximately wide. The first of the main passage is approximately 1 meter high, there is then a low lintel structure after which the passage continues at approximately in height in a slight downward curve. The walls are granite and were constructed using a

dry stone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their construction m ...

method. The roof consists of flat stone lintels that span between the walls. The current entrance is not in the original location, which is unknown. It is also unknown when the current entrance was created, but it dates to at least 1833 when an iron door was installed by the parish

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. It is thought that the main passage may have continued further east of the present day entrance. A description from 1836 mentions stone steps which have not been found.

History

The souterrain was first built in the 9th century and records of it date to the early 18th century. Although the exact purpose of souterrains has been debated, it is thought that they were used as a refuge from raiders or invaders, or a place to store religious artefacts. As souterrains are dry and cold places, they may have also been used to store food. In 1977 the site was cleared and surveyed by archaeologists but no formal excavation took place. Work to restore the site and open it to the public later began after collaboration between the land owner and

Banbridge District Council Banbridge District Council was the local authority of Banbridge (district), Banbridge in Northern Ireland. It was created in 1973 when the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 came into force. In May 2015, it merged with Arma ...

. Funding for this was provided by the Mourne Heritage Trust, and the Environment and heritage Service and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. Soil that had built up inside was removed, some minor repairs were made, stone chippings were used to cover the floor, solar lights were placed along the walls of the passageways and the iron door was replaced. A fenced pathway along the edge of the field was also built and an information board was placed next to the entrance. Work was completed and it was opened to the public in July 2003.

References

{{Coord, 54, 19, 22, N, 6, 1, 7, W, display=title Archaeological sites in County Down Subterranea (geography) Scheduled monuments in Northern Ireland