County: Cork Site name: CAHERBIRRANE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E1135
Author: Margaret McCarthy, Archaeological Services Unit, University College Cork
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 529587m, N 579137m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 51.959856, -9.024541
Pre-development monitoring was carried out at Caherbirrane, Clondrohid, Co. Cork, as part of a planning application for the construction of a single dwelling-house. The site is located in a landscape rich in prehistoric monuments, including megalithic tombs, standing stones, stone circles and fulachta fiadh. There was no surface indication of any monuments in the field scheduled for development but the high density of monuments in the immediate locality led the County Planning Authority to request a full archaeological assessment. This entailed monitoring topsoil removal from the surface area of the proposed house, the entranceway and the driveway.
The A-horizon was removed with a wide toothless bucket to the top of the subsoil. The topsoil consisted of loose black peaty silt, which varied in depth from 0.15m to 0.25m. This overlay the natural boulder clay, which consisted of friable grey stony clay. No archaeological features or finds were noted on the exposed surface.
Trenching in the percolation area also revealed an undisturbed soil profile similar to that observed in the area of the house and the driveway. No features or finds of archaeological significance were noted.
