County: Cork Site name: CASTLEDONOVAN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 119:17(02) Licence number: 02E1569
Author: Annette Quinn, Archaeological Services Unit Ltd, Department of Archaeology, University College Cork
Site type: Castle - tower house
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 511304m, N 549672m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 51.692435, -9.282959
Dúchas is currently undertaking conservation work at Castledonovan tower-house, Co. Cork. The conservation required the removal of the sod covering the caphouse floor to prevent the retaining water from exerting excess weight on the ceiling underneath. The caphouse is a small room in the north-west corner at the top of the tower-house, measuring 3.4m east–west by 2.6m.
The floor of the caphouse was tested and subsequently fully excavated. The excavation revealed a drainage system on the northern side of the floor. The drainage features were subsequently filled in and covered by slabs. The fills of the drainage channels contained a large quantity of animal bone, a lead musket shot and a 17th-century ridge tile. A large quantity of roof slates was recovered during the excavation, which suggests that all or part of the caphouse was roofed at some point during its use.
The erection of scaffolding along the south-west corner of the tower-house required the excavation of several pits. The excavation of the scaffold bases was monitored, the results of which indicated the presence of rubble collapse layers and the remains of a possible wall.
