2025:333 - Ballyharoon, Cork

Archaeological test trenching was undertaken at Ballyharoon, Co. Cork, on 25 September 2025. This was south of recorded monuments Church and Graveyard (SMR CO063-087001- and CO063-087002-) and formed part of an archaeological assessment for the development area to be used as an extension to a modern cemetery immediately to the west. While in the townland of Ballyharoon, this is commonly referred to as Rathcooney Cemetery.

Test trenching consisted of six trenches laid out to optimise assessment of the proposed cemetery plot layout. It also intensively focused on the area at the north of the field which was within the constraint zone surrounding the church and graveyard. A total of 190m of linear trench was investigated.

In all, ten features were identified. Two of these related to trial holes excavated in early 2025 (in Trenches 1 and 6). All other features were confined to the northern half of the site, and with two exceptions, all appeared as linear drains or furrows. These were either orientated east-west (in Trenches 2, 3 and 4) or north-south (in Trench 1) and were consistent with agricultural practices. No artefacts were found associated with any of these features. A north-south alignment of angular stone (almost central in Trench 1) is very likely a basal course of a dry stone wall, i.e. field-boundary, but nothing could indicate its form or date of origin. Similarly, a small dark deposit (C.9) was probably the result of burning and fertilising of the soil and cannot be considered archaeologically significant. These features were all between 0.28–0.5m below the present surface, the thickness of topsoil here.

Nothing of archaeological significance was identified.