2008:172 - Ballynora–Lehenaghmore, Cork

All groundworks of the Ballynora–Lehenaghmore pipeline project were subject to monitoring. Depending on the scale of the works and the number of earth-moving machines, three to five archaeologist undertook the monitoring over a four-week period during August and September 2008. All topsoil-stripping, including wide ‘takes’ at aboveground installations, road and river crossings, was monitored and all field fences, especially townland boundaries, were recorded. In the course of monitoring four hitherto unknown major archaeological finds were discovered. Three were in the townland of Curaheen and the fourth was in the townland of Chetywnd.
The first site in the townland Curaheen (08E0804, below No. 225) represented the remains of a fulacht fiadh. The second site became apparent in the course of monitoring as a circular enclosure evidenced by charcoal-rich soil. The feature was initially cleaned by hand to identify its spatial extent. It became apparent that it was a ring-ditch (08E0802, see No. 223 below). At the same time another feature became apparent as a range of pits forming a circular enclosure, and a truncated ceramic vessel became apparent in the ground. This find was interpreted as a Bronze Age enclosure and house (08E0803, below No. 224). The fourth excavation was undertaken in the townland of Chetywnd (08E0891); the site was a ringfort, consisting of a double ditch enclosing four souterrains, a round house and several pits. Three pits contained concentrations of burnt bone and preliminary results suggest that some of this bone is human, probably indicating the presence of elements of earlier date.