Richard McClure, 40, pleaded guilty at Antrim Crown Court to breaching the Historic Monuments and Archaeological Objects (NI) Order 1995. The offence, which occurred in 2021 during unauthorised digging works on his land near Ballyhome Road, was described by the Department for Communities as a “serious loss to society.”

Dunmull Hillfort, located just a few miles from Dunluce Castle, was once a royal site where Ulster kings ruled for around 1,500 years. Parts of the site also date back to the Stone Age. Dr Paul Logue, from the Department for Communities, said about 40% of the ancient ramparts were damaged or destroyed. “The damage was shocking. Heritage is finite, and once lost, it is gone forever,” he said, likening the act to “burning a book that no one has ever read.”

Archaeologist Dr Patrick Gleeson of Queen’s University Belfast warned that the destruction represented an irreplaceable loss of knowledge. “When sites are damaged like this, we can never get that information back. It’s a loss for the entire community, not just historians,” he said.

The Department for Communities stressed that special permission is required before any work can be undertaken on scheduled monuments. While officials aim to work with landowners to balance modern needs with preservation, they emphasised that breaches of the law carry serious consequences.

More than 100 protected sites across Northern Ireland have been damaged or vandalised in the past five years, underlining ongoing threats to the region’s heritage.

The fine, issued in August, serves as one of the largest penalties of its kind, reinforcing the importance of safeguarding Northern Ireland’s archaeological and historic treasures.