2008:186 - Castledonovan, Cork

Excavations were carried out prior to conservation works at Castledonovan, Co. Cork, from 18 August to 26 September 2008. This was the third and final phase of excavation at this site, the aim of which was to fully excavate the clay flooring on to the first floor and expose the stone vaulting of the ground-floor chamber, to investigate the possibility of there being an entrance in the north-west corner of the bawn and to expose the bawn wall to allow recording by the Office of Public Works.
First-floor chamber
Full excavation of the first-floor chamber was required to expose the stone vaulting beneath. The floor (measuring 7.2m by 5.3m) was built up of clay deposits with a maximum depth of 1.2m.
Finds from this area included iron nails and other ferrous objects, roof slate fragments, ridge tile fragments, clay tobacco pipe stems and bowls, glass (some hand blown), window lead and glass, loaf-shaped lead lumps (suggesting possible gaming pieces), a copper dressmaker’s thimble and dress maker’s pins, coins (including an 1825 George IV penny) and tokens, some pieces of fabric, a glass bottle top, a fragment of possible silver (possibly part of a brooch), a possible pewter spoon, silver or aluminium pieces, copper alloy pieces, buttons (including one with fabric attached), musket balls, a pistol shot, a door hinge and latch, a drawer handle, quernstone pieces and fragments of a cauldron.
A variety of ceramics were also found, including earthenware pottery, glazed ware, porcelain and stoneware.
The bawn wall
A trench was excavated on the exterior of, and parallel to, the western face of the bawn wall. This was c. 1m wide and was intended to enable the full exterior face of the bawn wall to be recorded. For this same reason a trench was excavated parallel to the interior face of the wall. This was c. 1.5m wide. The wall was exposed to its original footings for c. 80% of its length and was shown to be built directly on to the bedrock. After the wall was fully exposed and cleaned, it was recorded by the OPW.
The construction of the bawn wall followed that of the tower, with irregularly coursed facing stones of various sizes with a cut or dressed surface. The bawn wall was not bonded with mortar and was of drystone construction with a core that consisted of a mixture of smaller stones and gravelly soil. The aboveground preservation was poor, with the majority of the facing stones having been robbed out. The subsurface preservation was much better, particularly in the south-west corner, where more than 1m survived.
North-west corner of the bawn
An area measuring 4m by 5m was excavated on the interior of the north-west corner of the bawn wall with the intention of determining whether or not an entrance through the bawn wall existed in this area. Underlying the sod and topsoil was a deposit of large structural stones and collapsed rubble in a matrix of greyish-yellow sand. This deposit was removed to a maximum depth of c. 0.6m. Excavation ceased once it had been established that there was no evidence for an entrance.
A full and final report, including excavation results and specialist analysis from all three seasons of excavation, is currently being produced and should be complete within two years.