2008:165 - Ballyadeen, Cork

A test excavation was carried out at Ballyadeen townland near Castletownroche in north Cork in response to a request for further information. The proposed house site is located within the archaeological constraint zone of a possible ringfort (CO026–097) and a circular enclosure (CO026–190), the latter identified as a cropmark from an aerial photograph. No surface trace of the enclosing elements for either monument survives. The possible ringfort is located in the north-west corner of the field scheduled for development and it is depicted as a hachured circular enclosure on the 1842 OS map. The enclosure is located to the north of the development on the opposite side of the road leading to Glanworth.
In all, five test-trenches were opened and these were placed across those areas of the site where maximum ground disturbance occurred. The trenches were excavated using a mechanical excavator fitted with a toothless bucket. A maximum depth of 0.35m of topsoil was removed by machine, revealing the upper surface of a natural drift deposit of mottled orange and brown sandy clay. No archaeological finds or features were observed. While the cartographic evidence indicates the former existence of a possible ringfort in the field, the test excavation did not provide any evidence to link such a site within the proposed development area. All topsoil was cleared to the natural boulder clay and, with the exception of some scar marks associated with ploughing, the subsoil was undisturbed. It could be argued that the narrowness of the trenches limited visibility, although this is unlikely given the number of trenches that were excavated and the lack of cultural deposits at the proposed development site is therefore considered genuine.