2008:160 - Ballinglanna North B6, Cork

Phase 2 excavation works were undertaken along the route of the N8 Fermoy–Mitchelstown bypass on behalf of Cork County Council. The proposed bypass involves the construction of c. 16km of dual carriageway extending from Gortore, north of Fermoy, to Carrigane, north-east of Mitchelstown. A programme of advance archaeological testing (Phase 1) had been carried out in October 2005 (see various entries in Excavations 2005). Excavations at Ballinglanna North B6 were divided into two areas.
Area 1 comprised a fulacht fiadh/burnt mound that extended beyond the limit of the excavation. The burnt mound within the area of excavation measured 8.7m north–south by 4m. A trough was found at the eastern edge of the mound, partly overlain by some of the mound deposits. A later trough truncated the earlier one; it was not overlain by any of the burnt-mound material. A circular pit and a drainage ditch truncated the later trough. The troughs were evidently located in one of the parts of the site best suited to water collection; there was anecdotal evidence from the landowner for a ground-water ‘river’ flowing through the fulacht fiadh/burnt-mound site during times of heavy rainfall.
A shallow linear feature, aligned north-east to south-west, may have been part of a system of water management associated with the earlier trough. The base of the linear feature sloped from the wettest area of the site at the north-east to the south-west where it turned to the south-east and headed towards the north-west corner of the earlier trough. Several drains criss-crossed this area of the site, as it was low-lying and prone to waterlogging. Two drains were interpreted as medieval and a third was interpreted as a modern feature.
The excavated archaeological contexts at Area 2 comprised hearths, metalling, a screen or windbreak, stake-holes, post-holes, pits, spreads of burnt material, linear features and a furrow.
The hearth was a shallow hollow, with scorched natural subsoil and a charcoal-rich fill. The scorched subsoil was concentrated in the shallow circular part of the hearth, at the north-west of the feature. There were patches of scorched subsoil to the east, suggesting that this feature was truncated and that originally the area of scorching extended beyond the hearth. Metalling overlaid the hearth at the south-west and extended beyond it to the west. There were also some possible areas of metalling to the south of the hearth near the screen/windbreak. The screen/windbreak was made up of four stake-holes and one post-hole. The post-hole was central with two stake-holes on either side of it; this screen or windbreak was located downslope and to the south of the hearth.
A total of three isolated pits were excavated at the site. The first was located at the limit of and extending beyond the area of excavation and only a portion of this pit was excavated. This pit truncated burnt material. The pit contained a single fill and a fragment of a roughed-out quernstone. A second pit was shallow and oval. It contained three fills and it cut a linear feature and slot-trench. The third was a circular pit with a stone lining. It contained a single fill and it was overlain by a second area of metalling.
An isolated post-hole was located in the eastern part of Area 2. A second shallow post-hole was found at the northern part of the area. It had a single homogenous fill and contained fragments of iron nails. A third post-hole was found 0.19m to the east. All these post-holes are isolated and bear no relationship to each other or to other features at the site.
There were two spreads of burnt material, one in the northern part of Area 2 and the second at the centre of the area of excavation. The first spread was a thin layer of scorched natural subsoil overlain by a thin charcoal-rich layer. These lay predominantly outside the area of excavation. The second spread was a shallow deposit focused on the metalled surface. The deposit survived within a shallow depression in the natural subsoil. It contained small fragments of slag. There were four stake-holes, possibly forming a fence, to the north of the metalling. It was continued by a line of collapsed masonry to the south-east.
A total of four linear features and a furrow were also excavated at this site.