County: Kerry Site name: ROSS ISLAND
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 66:95 Licence number: 92E0081
Author: William O'Brien, Dept. of Archaeology, University College Galway
Site type: Mine - copper
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 494372m, N 588058m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.034449, -9.539509
A fourth season of archaeological investigation was conducted in 1995 at the ancient copper mine on Ross Island, Killarney, Co. Kerry. This work included 11 weeks' excavation, four weeks' geophysical and topographic survey, two weeks' geological survey and drilling, and a week devoted to site conservation work. The excavation project continued to investigate an escarpment platform adjacent to Bronze Age mine workings identified in 1992. Excavation on this escarpment over the past three seasons had identified the site of a work-camp connected with copper-mining in the period 2400–1800 BC. Ore-processing sediments, metallurgical treatment pits and a number of hut structures associated with early Beaker pottery have been identified.
The 1995 excavation work in the Beaker work-camp had two priorities: firstly, to continue the investigation of the core excavation area where important Beaker-period discoveries were made in previous seasons, and secondly to investigate the periphery of the work-camp location on this escarpment in an effort to determine site limits. Much of this season was devoted to the continuing investigation of the Beaker metallurgical area. Further excavation remains to be carried out to interpret the many pit features and fuel ash sediments found here. The 1995 season did complete the excavation of a sub-rectangular hut foundation associated with early Beaker pottery. Total excavation area in the Beaker work-camp now amounts to some 500m2.
The investigation of magnetic survey anomalies on the periphery of the Beaker site led to the discovery of two primitive copper-smelting furnaces. These are marked by small pits associated with spreads of plate slag, vitrified ceramic and furnace wall fragments. While the dating of these features remains to be confirmed, a preliminary radiocarbon result raises the possibility of Early Christian period copper-mining at this site. Further discoveries included that of a wooden hurdle fence around the southern side of the Blue Hole trench mine in the eastern mine sector. This fence is associated with mine sediments and is probably connected to ancient copper- mining at this location, by virtue of its stratigrahphic position beneath submerged peat growth along the modern lake shore.
Further work included a drilling and ore-sampling programme; the completion of bedrock mapping and geophysical survey; continuing progress on the site topographic survey; and the completion of conservation work around the Bronze Age mine workings in advance of public presentation of the site in 1997.
