County: Cork Site name: KNOCKACULLEN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 108:161 Licence number: 97E0470
Author: Margaret McCarthy, Archaeological Services Unit, Department of Archaeology, University College Cork
Site type: Enclosure
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 532601m, N 550166m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 51.699842, -8.975050
An application by the landowner to construct a slatted cubicle house within a circular enclosure at Knockacullen, Ballineen, Co. Cork, led to archaeological conditions being imposed on the development.
The site is depicted as a large square enclosure on the 1st edition OS map (1842) and appears as a subcircular enclosure on the 2nd. The monument was levelled by the landowner in 1979 and was subsequently visited by an archaeologist from the Office of Public Works. It now survives as a large, level, roughly circular area (48m x 60m) under pasture.
Four test-trenches (3m x 1m) were opened in the area of the proposed building to assess the implications of the development. A considerable density of archaeological features was revealed in Trench 1, in the south-western part of the development area, following the removal of 0.2m of topsoil. The earliest observable stratigraphic feature consisted of an extensive layer of burning. The extremely oxidised surface contained large quantities of charcoal and some tiny fragments of burnt bone, and it formed a single layer across most of the trench. This oxidised layer sealed the natural boulder clay and should be interpreted as evidence for intensive occupation in this area of the site. A series of possible structural features was recorded cutting through the layer, including a linear slot-type trench and two post settings. The linear trench extends at an oblique angle east-west across the trench and continues under the baulk on both sides. It measures 0.16m in width and the fill consists of a light to mid-brown sandy silt with occasional charcoal inclusions. A relatively large posthole was noted 0.16m east of the linear trench and adjacent to the northern baulk. It measured 0.32m x 0.41m and the fill consisted of a light grey, loose silty clay. At the eastern end of the trench a smaller post-hole was revealed some 0.28m west of the linear trench. It measured 0.2m x 0.12m and appeared to contain a similar loose fill to the other post-hole.
A record was made of the archaeological deposits exposed in this trench and no further excavation was undertaken. The function and interrelationship of the individual features is difficult to evaluate but together they are suggestive of intensive occupation in this particular area of the enclosure. The areas investigated in Trenches 2–4 appear to have been less intensively occupied as all three trenches proved devoid of archaeological features. It is possible that other areas which were not evaluated also contain archaeological deposits.
