A stone's throw to NI's past

A carving in Northern Ireland's stone store

By BBC NI's environment correspondent Mike McKimm

Ever wondered what happens to the valuable bits of all the old buildings pulled down or those items from archaeological digs that don't make it to the museum show piece?

Well the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland keep theirs in an old warehouse called the Stone Store in Castlewellan Forest Park in County Down.

And now they have thrown it open to a curious public.

Until the end of August, people are being encouraged to see artefacts that are not normally on show.

Drumadonell High Cross is more than 1,000 years old

Some are just too big while others are considered to be a bit too abstract for most tastes.

The centre piece is the Drumadonell High Cross - more than 1,000 years old.

It was rescued from an old abandoned school in County Down after 18th Century vandals had already chipped the corners. It has been sitting gathering dust ever since

From old prehistoric log boats to carved heads of English kings, there is a wide variety of material on view.

Some are from archaeological digs and date back to the Stone Age - while others used to adorn castles long since destroyed by battle or the weather.

For some of the visitors it is been a nostalgic moment.

Old carved stones or crosses they remembered as children had been taken away for safe keeping and now are bringing back old memories.

The store contains enough material to build a small but very ornate castle!