County: Cork Site name: BALLYRISODE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 147:13 Licence number: 99E0409
Author: William O'Brien, Department of Archaeology, National University of Ireland Galway
Site type: Mine - copper
Period/Dating: Bronze Age (2200 BC-801 BC)
ITM: E 483834m, N 529817m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 51.509017, -9.673558
This site is an isolated example of a Mount Gabriel-type copper mine, 10km south-west of the said mountain in the Mizen Peninsula, Co. Cork.
The mine consists of a single inclined opening at the base of a low outcrop exposure of sedimentary copper mineralisation. Directly outside the 3–4m-long chamber is a low mound formed by the dumping of waste rock during the mine operation. This spoil mound, measuring 13m by 7m, is bisected by a 1m-wide trench extending 13.5m out from the mine entrance. Antiquarian records reveal that the latter was dug in 1854, leading to the discovery of the mine chamber and a hoard of twelve polished stone axeheads therein (Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 1880, 341–2).
A sample excavation was carried out in August 1999 to examine the composition of the spoil mound and to recover charcoal samples for radiocarbon dating. Three cuttings were opened across the mound, at right angles to the 1854 trench. Excavation on the southern side revealed upcast sediment from these diggings, overlying a buried sod horizon and iron pan formation. This sealed early mine sediment comprising layers of crushed sandstone containing charcoal and stone hammer fragments. The last consist of broken cobbles from local beach sources, with a small number of haft-modified examples.
A charcoal sample from a basal spoil layer has been radiocarbon dated to 3400±30 BP (GrN-25066, courtesy Jan Lanting). The sample can be directly linked to fire-setting extraction, placing this short-lived mine operation within the Early Bronze Age, and by association the use of polished stone axeheads at this site.
