County: Cork Site name: AGHADA
Sites and Monuments Record No.: CO088-035001–2 Licence number: 03E0466
Author: Annette Quinn, Archaeological Services Unit, University College Cork
Site type: Metalworking site
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 585469m, N 564886m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 51.836014, -8.210850
An initial test excavation of a proposed house site revealed the presence of a black charcoal-enriched feature. The site was on the main street in the village of Aghada between a two-storey dwelling to the south and a cottage to the north. The site lies within the zone of constraint for the Church of Ireland church and graveyard (SMR 88:35(01, 02)). The feature was subsequently excavated. The high incidence of iron slag and tuyère fragments recovered from the main fill of the trench suggests that it was part of a furnace or a feature associated with iron working. The thick clay lining at the base of the trench is also characteristic of iron-smelting furnaces. A sherd of post-medieval pottery dating to between the 17th and 19th centuries was recovered from this layer. It is possible that the feature excavated is part of a flue associated with an earth-cut furnace.
