2007:232 - CARRIGTWOHILL, Cork

Excavations were undertaken in 2007 during the construction of a new sewerage scheme in the environs of Carrigtwohill village. The remains of a burnt-stone and charcoal-rich soil spread were uncovered directly under the topsoil at depths of 0.35–0.7m below the modern surface and the site included a circular ditch, pits, a spread of burnt stone and a linear ditch. The circular ditch was stratigraphically the earliest recorded feature and lay under the spread of burnt stone. The ditch had an overall maximum diameter of 6.74m and an internal diameter of 5.1m. The ditch was widest on the east side, where it was 0.82m and narrowed to 0.42m, and was less well defined along the northern perimeter. The depth varied from 0.2m to 0.4m and the fill comprised heat-shattered stone, charcoal and clay. Hazel (Corylus avellana) charcoal from the fill returned a 14C determination of 891–803 cal BC; 2679±33 (UBA 8457). The ditch appeared to surround a central pit that was sub-oval in plan and the excavated measurements were 3.6m east–west by 1.75m by 0.4m deep. The fill was a mixture of heat-shattered stones, charcoal and clay and a lignite bracelet fragment was recovered from part of the basal fill. The burnt stone from mound material infilled the upper level of the pit.

Five pits were excavated and all had fills of burnt stone. Two pits were conjoined. One large pit had an overall length of 8.5m (north-west/south-east) and a maximum width of 4.2m (east–west). The south-eastern end was shallow with a maximum depth of 0.4m and the north-west end was 0.7m deep. Six stakes were driven into the base of the pit and one oak post remained in situ. The stakes extended across a length of 1.5m, forming a W-shaped plan, and ranged in diameter from 0.1m to 0.2m. A 1.1m-wide channel drained into the eastern side of the pit and may have carried surface water into it. The channel was 0.25m deep with a rounded U-shaped base and extended eastwards for 7.3m.

The mound comprised a spread of burnt stones and charcoal-rich clay which was irregular in plan, extending over an area measuring 18m east–west by 12m, and was up to 0.3m thick. The spread was thickest towards the south, adjacent to the modern road, and spread out more thinly to the north and east. The mound material had been cut through by a later ditch. The mound material varied in composition and included compact lenses of stone and mixed clay, charcoal and stone. Hazel ash (Fraxinus excelsior) charcoal from the mound material returned a 14C determination of 917–841 cal BC; 2749±33 (UBA 8455).

A medieval ditch traversed the site on an east–west axis and cut through the spread of burnt stones and charcoal. The ditch was 1.45m wide by 0.4m deep and the excavated length was 14m. The sides sloped to a rounded base and the ditch was infilled with material from the fulacht fiadh mound along the sides, where presumably mound material had slipped into the ditch once it was cut. A 0.25m-thick layer of stony sandy soil overlay the slippage and infilled the ditch. Alder (Alnus glutinosa) charcoal from the base of the ditch fill returned a 14C determination of cal AD 1033–1152; 942±BP (UBA 8456).