County: Cork Site name: CASTLEHYDE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: CO035-125---- Licence number: 03E0680
Author: Margaret McCarthy, Archaeological Services Unit, University College Cork
Site type: Cist
Period/Dating: Bronze Age (2200 BC-801 BC)
ITM: E 578365m, N 598586m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.138709, -8.316056
Groundworks associated with the construction of a new sewage scheme and connecting pipe to Castlehyde House led to the discovery of a previously unrecorded cist burial. The cist was rectangular in plan and oriented east–west. It was covered with a single large capstone, which was removed by the workmen on initial discovery. The cist was stone-lined and was divided into two compartments by a narrow upright stone which had become dislodged during the removal of the capstone. A single stone slab formed the base of the cist. This was lifted to investigate the possibility of further archaeological deposits, but it overlay the natural subsoil and so was replaced. The side stones of the cist were not removed, because the monument was left intact and the capstone will eventually be returned to its original position. Two intact food vessels were found in an upright position in the west compartment and the fragmented remains of a pygmy cup were found against the dividing slab in the east compartment.
