1992:020 - FOTA ISLAND, Carrigtwohill, Cork

Fota Island lies in the northern portion of Cork Harbour. The archaeological investigation there began at the invitation of the developer and lasted for a total of 10 weeks. It was carried out under the aegis of Archaeological Development Services Ltd, Dublin, initially as a watching brief in advance of the construction of a golf course.

Definite archaeological remains were found in 9 separate areas during the construction work, at depths varying between 0.2m and 0.4m below the topsoil horizon. Three of these could be dated to the prehistoric period, and were fully excavated.

The first, Area 1, proved to be a porched house site of probably Bronze Age date. It is loosely paralleled by a structure excavated on the Cork—Dublin gas pipeline at Ballyveelish, Co. Tipperary, by M. Doody, but the latter contained a central cremation; there was no burial evidence on the Fota site. It consisted of a hearth, 2 large and amorphous pits, 2 stake slots, 10 regularly cut post holes, and a number of shallow depressions and stake holes. The postholes were arranged in an oval ring with a long axis of 8m and a width of 4.5m. One of the large pits proved to be a central kingpost hole. The posts had been charred and limestone-packed and good evidence of constructional techniques therefore survived.

The 2nd site, Area 4, occupied the summit of a low rise in the middle of the island. It consisted of 14 pits of varying capacities. Its date is likely to be similar to, or slightly older than, the house in Area 1. The large oval pit in the middle of the site had survived to a depth of almost 1m and had been clay-lined twice during the course of its life. A posthole in the base of the pit may mean that a wooden gantry or platform was raised over it. To the north-west of this, 3 smaller shallower pits, filled with fire-shattered stone and charcoal-rich silts, were excavated. Each had a small extension to the south-west, presumably a flue into the prevailing wind. No clear idea of the function of this site is yet evident. Several humanly struck flints were recovered, a rare commodity on Fota, but the presence of 2 whetstones from a nearby feature may indicate that bronze blades were being sharpened in the vicinity. The four-posts structure may be a grain platform.

Area 9 appeared in the machining as an almost 8m length of limestone wall. When this was examined, it was found to be the lowest courses of a revetment wall for a destroyed earthen bank that had been built over more prehistoric pits and post holes, preserving them at a depth of only 0.2m below the surface of the topsoil. The pits and post holes themselves represent an incomplete sample of several periods of superimposed activity, including at least one structure which had utilized over 40 thin wooden stakes. No date can as yet be placed on the erection of the earthen bank, but it appears to have survived as a field boundary up to the 18th/19th century, since its delineation was renewed by the digging of two shallow ditches at either side. Thereafter it was deliberately flattened out, possibly in the creation of landscaped parkland to act as a foil for the neo-classical Fota House.

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