2001:130 - CARRIGALINE MIDDLE, Cork

Pre-development testing was carried out at this site in December 2001. The ringfort and associated possible souterrain were to be preserved in an area of open space within a proposed large housing development, and testing took place outside this area in order to determine whether archaeological remains outside the perimeter of the ringfort would be affected by the development. A geophysical survey of the area had identified a number of strong anomalies of potential archaeological significance and these were also targeted in the test-trenching.

Eleven 2m-wide trenches were excavated. The features uncovered included a number of pits, a hearth, a number of possible cremation burials, a portion of the ringfort ditch which extended beyond the limits of the area of open space, and a portion of an earlier ditch which was apparently truncated by the ditch of the ringfort. It is anticipated that these features will be excavated in 2002.