County: Cork Site name: CASTLEMARTYR
Sites and Monuments Record No.: CO077-005003 Licence number: 05E1309
Author: Margaret McCarthy, Archaeological Services Unit
Site type: Castle - tower house
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 596560m, N 573838m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 51.916667, -8.050000
Monitoring has been undertaken within the grounds of Castlemartyr House since January 2005. Site works commenced with the access road through the development leading from the tower-house and adjacent country house through parkland towards the walled gardens. The removal of topsoil along this road revealed that no archaeological features were present on the underlying subsoil.
The first phase of the development involved the construction of housing within the two walled gardens. The topsoil was removed to the level of the natural boulder clay across the entire area enclosed by the walls and no features of archaeological significance were uncovered. Two brick-and-stone walls were surveyed and are presumed to represent the footings of glasshouses that were originally located in this area. The excavation of the foundation trenches for the houses in the southern walled garden uncovered pipes associated with a 19th-century water sprinkler system; this was recorded by the landscape architect before it was removed. The base of a previously unknown fountain was uncovered in the northern walled garden. Fortunately, this original feature will not be impacted upon by the construction of the new houses and it was recommended that the fountain be restored and retained as a landscape feature within the overall development.
The second phase of the works involved the dismantling of recent farm outbuildings within the area of the bawn wall. This was carried out under archaeological supervision to ensure that no damage was caused to the original fabric of the tower-house, fortified house, bawn wall and mural tower. The five-storey tower-house in the south-east corner of the bawn wall was fenced off to a height that ensured that no damage was caused by the raised buckets of heavy machinery. Fencing was also placed along the entire circuit of the bawn wall incorporating what remains of the 17th-century fortified house in the south-east corner of the bawn area. The three-storey mural tower in the north-east corner of the bawn was also protected. Ground disturbance within the bawn area was limited to the excavation of service trenches and the deepening of a slurry pit adjacent to the tower-house. No archaeological features or finds were uncovered during this phase of construction work.
University College Cork
