2005:170 - BALLYBROWNEY, Cork

Monitoring took place of works within previously untested or unresolved locations along the route of the new N8 Rathcormac–Fermoy bypass between June 2004 and March 2005. These works occurred both within and outside the extents of the compulsory purchase order. External works were monitored under licence 04E0948 by Laurence Dunne (Excavations 2004, No. 256), while internal works were appointed individual works numbers by the project archaeologist.

Site B contained a slot-trench, 8m long by 0.4m wide. It was recorded, and then covered in geotextile and soil. The slot-trench extended beyond the area of the excavation, to the west, into the main route of the bypass. It had been excavated within the area of the main route by Eamonn Cotter (Excavations 2003, No. 149, 03E1058). The enclosure, named Enclosure 3, was located on the eastern edge of the route of the N8. It comprised a slot-trench with evidence of stone lining along the edges. The entire enclosure would have measured c. 22m in diameter. A radiocarbon date of 1700–1520 cal BC (Beta 201050) was obtained from the slot-trench (Cotter 2005, 40).

A circular cut formed the ring-ditch. The ditch was 0.81–1m wide and enclosed an area c. 4.25m in diameter. No features were recorded in the interior of enclosure. The south-western quadrant had been truncated by a machine during topsoil-stripping. The ditch was deepest (0.31m) and best preserved in the north. Eight fills were recorded in the primary ditch cut. The majority of these were sandy clays. C.30 was the largest fill within the ditch and may have been deliberately backfilled; it occurred throughout the length of the ditch. A narrow slot (C.8/C.10) was cut into the fills on the inner edge of the ring-ditch. The slot (0.28–0.6m wide by 0.12–0.18m deep) was shallow and irregular in places. Twelve fills were recorded in the slot, but these can be separated into distinct phases within C.8/10. The five lowest fills were charcoal-enriched. The charcoal-rich material had burned in situ, with scorched earth evident in places, especially along the sides of the cut. Burnt bone was included in five fills. Only one sample from fill C.36 included human diagnostic bone fragments that were sufficiently well preserved for identification. The fill also contained one sloe stone, which may have been attached to twigs when it was burned, and two cleaver seeds. Four fills overlay the charcoal-enriched fills and sealed the slot from the final phase of burning.

The two upper fills of C.8/C.10 were located on the surface of the infilled slot. They were burned in situ. The larger of the fills was a rich charcoal layer and was found in the eastern area of C.8/C.10. The charcoal was identified as oak. An Iron Age calibrated date of 349–43 cal BC (UB-6770) was returned from the charcoal. C.6 was a small charcoal deposit located in the south-west section of the slot. Above this final burning was a silt deposit, which had built up in places over the charcoal layer, especially in the small hollows.

A small pit was recorded to the east of the ring-ditch.

Site A has been identified as a ring-ditch, with an internal diameter of 4.25m. Cremated human bone was recorded in the fills. Small quantities of cremated bone were recovered from the fills, indicating that it was a token deposit rather than a full burial. The ring-ditch is likely to be associated with the large Bronze Age/Iron Age site, which included four enclosures, three circular houses and a medieval corn-drying kiln (ibid., 38), on the route of the N8 to the north-east.

Reference
Cotter, E. 2005 Bronze Age Ballybrowney County Cork. In National Roads Authority, Recent Archaeological Discoveries on National Road Schemes 2004.

Ballycurreen Industrial Estate, Kinsale Road, Cork