County: Cork Site name: TRANTSTOWN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E0501
Author: Rory Sherlock, Sheila Lane and Associates
Site type: Furnace
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 574840m, N 581190m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 51.982192, -8.366261
Several sites were originally identified during monitoring of topsoil-stripping on the N8 Glanmire–Watergrasshill Road Scheme (see Excavations 2001, No. 173). They were generally small isolated features of archaeological interest, and while other sites discovered on the scheme were excavated under separate licences, these small sites were grouped together under 01E0501. Each site on the road scheme was identified by an ‘AR’ prefix followed by a site-specific number, and sites AR3–6, AR10–13, AR26 and AR29 were investigated under this licence. Many of these sites were found to be of little or no archaeological significance, apart from AR10 (Killydonoghoe, No. 194, Excavations 2001), AR26 (Ballinvinny North, No. 108, Excavations 2001) and AR29 (this site).
AR29 consisted of two bowl furnaces near one another. The smaller furnace was irregular in shape and had a slag-rich fill, a clay lining and a sub-oval cut measuring up to 0.42m long and 0.36m deep. The larger furnace was apparently untruncated and was found with its clay lid in situ. The clay lid was up to 0.1m thick and overlay the principal fill of the feature, a slag-rich deposit, which in turn overlay a black silty deposit and a mixed clay/slag deposit. The cut of the furnace was subcircular in plan, c. 0.55m in diameter, up to 0.35m in depth, and was lined with a 30–45mm-thick clay lining. The presence of a mixed clay/slag deposit around the sides and base of the feature may suggest that the feature was reused on at least one occasion.
AE House, Monahan Road, Cork
