1999:085 - CASTLEVIEW, Cork

Excavations were undertaken at Castleview, Little Island, Co. Cork, over five weeks in August and September 1999. The monitoring of topsoil removal revealed four archaeological sites consisting of three stone-lined linear features (Sites 1–3) and a levelled fulacht fiadh (Site 4). This work was carried out before the construction of three factories, four business units and a landfill area, as part of the East Gate development project.

The fulacht fiadh had clearly been levelled before the present development was undertaken. There was no surface indication of its presence before topsoil removal, and it was not marked on any edition of the Ordnance Survey maps. A laneway had been built over the northern edge of the site, probably as part of the pre-existing farmlands, sometime between 1842 and 1935, on OS map evidence.

Topsoil removal revealed a large spread of burnt material consisting of charcoal and heat-shattered stones, which overlay several cut features. A modern land drain extended in a north-south direction through the burnt spread, and a curvilinear arc of stones to the south of the fulacht fiadh was also investigated. It became apparent on excavation that the arc of stones overlay a thick layer of grey clay that sealed the outer extremities of the burnt mound material. The land drain, the arc of stones and the layer of grey clay were relatively modern in date, as they all contained numerous fragments of modern glass.

The trough consisted of two adjoining circular pits (F16 and F18), which were revealed following removal of the burnt mound material. The fills were a black, charcoal-enriched, sandy silt with inclusions of heat-shattered stones (80%) and water. Both pits were circular in plan with a sharp break of slope at the top that graded towards a rounded base. F16 measured 1.45m x 1.45m and was 0.5m deep. The eastern edge of this pit was lined with a curved stone. F18 measured 2m x 1.92m and had a maximum depth of 0.25m. A small, slightly curving stone lined the western edge of the pit. The two circular troughs were divided by a large, flat stone oriented north-south between the two cuts.

To the south of F16 and F18 were three small stake-holes aligned along the same axis as the troughs. The fills were a black, loosely compacted, silty sand with occasional charcoal flecks. They measured c. 0.2m in diameter with depths of 0.2m to 0.31m. An intact wooden stake was recovered from one of the stake-holes and was 0.42m long.

A large waterlogged pit (F12) was found to the north of the trough, close to the limits of the site. The pit was subcircular in plan, measuring 1.5m x 1.4m and 0.35m deep. The fill resembled that of the trough, a black, silty sand with large quantities of heat-shattered stones. A shallower pit (F10) was exposed close to the northern edge of the trough. It was oval in plan and measured 0.29m x 0.24m and 0.26m deep. The fill was a black, silty sand with pebble inclusions and charcoal flecks. Two other pits, 0.16m deep, were excavated to the south of the trough. The fills were a black, sandy silt with occasional flecks of charcoal and large pebbles.

Sites 1–3 can be described as linear stone-lined features with fills consisting of charcoal-enriched deposits and red, oxidised soil resulting from intense burning. They were between 2.2m and 4.1m long and had an average width and depth of 0.65m and 0.52m respectively. A large quantity of charred cereal grain was recovered from Site 1, which seemed to indicate that this particular feature functioned as a cereal-drying kiln. No artefacts or bone material were found in the fills, despite an intensive programme of sieving. Large quantities of charcoal were recovered from all three features, and these, along with samples from the fulacht fiadh, have been submitted for radiocarbon dating.