2024:257 - Church Hill, Carrigrohane, Cork

An archaeological excavation was undertaken at the site of a permitted residential development at Church Hill, Carrigrohane, Cork following the uncovering of archaeological features during a preceding testing programme carried out under excavation licence 19E0595. The excavation area was centred on the footprint of the residential development and included a portion of the alignment of the southern site access route and distinct access route into the house site.

The excavation revealed evidence of archaeological activity, in the form of two parallel linear ditch features, aligned roughly east to west and spaced between 4.6m and 4.8m apart, which, the artefactual evidence suggests, are potentially contemporary with the original 13^th-century Anglo-Norman masonry castle of Carrigrohane. The fragmentary remains of this castle survive to the immediate west of the extant 17^th-century fortified house, c. 140m northwest of the subject excavation cutting. It is currently postulated that the parallel ditches may represent flanking drainage ditches associated with a trackway or routeway which approached the Anglo-Norman castle from the southeast.

A small structure, potentially a cabin or outhouse associated with agricultural or industrial-type uses was constructed upon the upper levels of the southern parallel ditch and appears to post-date the ditch activity, as well as some of the agricultural activity revealed across the site. However, it must be noted that these interpretations will remain tentative until the completion of the post-excavation analyses which will allow for a greater understanding of the nature and phasing of the revealed features.

Other features revealed across the excavation site appeared to be predominantly associated with agricultural and post-medieval land-use activities.

A range of radiocarbon dates will be obtained from the samples taken during the excavation of the site.