Archaeologists have discovered what is believed to be a prehistoric ceremonial site on Cave Hill in north Belfast (Northern Ireland).It follows a community excavation involving more than 400 people at the site of Ballyaghagan cashel.
     Dr Harry Welsh, an archaeologist with Queen's University, which led the Big Dig project, said some of the earliest items on the site dated back to 3,500 BCE. He said:"Before we started the dig we thought there would be no big mystery. It was a cashel and we would just be in and out again. But after a few days we started to see that this site does not conform to all the features of a cashel."
     Dr Welsh also drew attention to a piece of sandstone which was uncovered at the site and has been inscribed with a unique design. "We have a piece of sandstone and someone has gone to the trouble of inscribing an oval shape on it with segments, very like if you took a cross section of an orange," he added. "It is on both sides, so the jury is out on this one.

Edited from BBC News (27 October 2011)