2007:260 - GERRYHESTY, Cork

Testing of CO084–028 was carried out at the request of John A. Wood Ltd and the Irish Concrete Federation (ICF). The monument, which is listed in the RMP as a field boundary, is located within an area which is proposed for quarrying and adjacent to a disused quarry. The report on the testing formed part of an EIS which was submitted to the planning authority to accompany a planning application for a quarry extension. Testing of the site was required with a view to establishing the nature and significance of the monument and to ascertain if archaeological features or deposits were present.

The site itself is comprised of an oval-shaped area orientated north–north-west/south–south-east and is defined by a scarped edge on which mature Scots pine trees and whitethorn bushes are growing. It measures c. 60.6m in length from the top of the scarped edge at the north to the south. The interior of the monument is densely overgrown with briars and ferns and a number of mature Scots pines are also growing here. The interior appeared to be relatively flat and was level with the scarped edge defining the monument. The scarped edge falls away sharply on all sides but is steepest at the north-west and south-west. The site commands extensive views of the surrounding landscape in all directions but particularly towards the west.

The monument is not included in the Archaeological Inventory of County Cork (Power et al. 1997). The file on the monument housed in University College Cork states that the site was originally identified as an irregular-shaped field and was also mentioned in Hartnett’s unpublished 1939 thesis ‘Antiquities of East Muskerry’. Given its proximity to the now demolished Garryhesty House, it is possible that the monument was a landscape feature, such as a tree-ring, which was associated with the country house and therefore of possible 19th-century date.

Four test-trenches were excavated on the site. Trench 1 was located in the interior of the monument and was orientated in a north-north-west/south-south-east direction. The trench measured 28.1m in length and 2.35m in width and was excavated to a maximum depth of 0.5m. Two potential archaeological features (F1 and F2) were uncovered after the removal of the topsoil. F1 appeared to consist of a circular or subcircular pit which extended under the east baulk of the trench. A section was subsequently manually excavated and showed the pit to be filled with a homogenous grey silty sand with inclusions of frequent small stones and pebbles, a moderate amount of roots and charcoal flecks. The fill was removed to reveal a brightly coloured oxidised base but did not contain any datable finds. The function and date of this feature are unknown; however, its oxidised base is indicative of in situ burning. F2 consisted of a linear feature, which did not contain any datable finds.

Trench 2 was located at the south-east side of the monument and extended from the interior across the scarped edge and down to the exterior of the site. Two features, F3 and F4, were uncovered; however, it is not clear if they are archaeological in nature. F3 consisted of a narrow linear feature that was located at the top of the scarped edge. F3 was exposed for a length of 2.3m across the width of the trench and measured 1.4m in width (north-west/south-east) and 0.35m in depth. A section was excavated across the feature, which showed it to be filled with a dark-brown/grey sandy silt. The fill contained occasional charcoal flecks and large stones and a moderate amount of small stones, pebbles and roots. No finds were recovered from the fill to suggest a date for this feature. It was located along the line of the trees that now grow on the scarped edge of the monument. At the south-east end of Trench 2 a band of darker brown soil (F4) was noted at the base of the scarped edge on removal of the topsoil. F4 was located where one might expect to find an enclosing ditch; however, manual investigation of the feature did not provide any evidence to substantiate this suggestion.

Trench 3 was located at the north-west side of the monument and again extended from the interior over the scarped edge and down to the exterior of the site. It measured 18.7m in length (north-west/south-east), 2.3m in width and 0.4m in depth. As in Trench 2 a band of brown stony soil (F5) was noted at the north-west end of the trench at the base of the scarped edge. It was exposed across the width of the trench for a length of 2.3m (north-east/south-west) and also appeared to slope up towards the scarped edge for a distance of at least 3m. An investigative section was not excavated across F5 and no finds were noted in the upper levels of the ‘fill’. No other potential archaeological features were uncovered in Trench 3.

Trench 4 was located at the south-west side of the monument and was excavated from inside the top of the scarped edge down to the base of the slope. As in Trenches 2 and 3 a band of soil (F6) was noted at the base of the scarped edge. An investigative section was excavated across F6 in order to ascertain if it could represent a ditch-like feature surrounding the monument. The section revealed F6 to be filled with a rooty mid-brown silty sand that contained inclusions of occasional charcoal flecks which became more frequent towards the base. The fill measured only 0.25–0.28m in thickness. The base of the feature was relatively flat and sloped down from the north-east to the south-west following the natural slope of the ground. No datable finds were recovered from the fill of F6 and the function of this feature is unclear. With a depth of only 0.28m, it is unlikely that it served any defensive function or that it was intended to formally enclose the site.

No evidence for the presence of an enclosing bank was uncovered in the test-trenches and the monument would appear to have a scarped edge on all sides. Furthermore, there is no ditch or fosse enclosing the site at the base of the slope, supporting the suggestion that the monument is not a ringfort.