County: Cork Site name: CURRAGH UPPER
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 09E0209
Author: Bernice Molloy, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd, 27 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
Site type: Settlement
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 586538m, N 598131m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.134881, -8.196642
This site was identified during monitoring of topsoil-stripping on the BGE Curraleigh West to Midleton gas pipeline. This site was located on a break or plateau on a long north-facing hill which sloped to the River Blackwater. Natural subsoil consisted of compact yellow sandy clay and the field was used for arable farming and had been extensively ploughed. This site was radiocarbon-dated to AD 1175–1260 (UB 13616).
The main focus of the site was a semicircular structure which measured 6m in internal diameter. The structure was delineated by a curvilinear slot trench. A charcoal-rich spread was centrally placed within the structure and lumps of slag were retrieved from this deposit. This could suggest that the structure may have had some form of industrial function. A cluster of pits was identified c. 6.5m to the north-east, some of which contained burnt animal bone. No artefacts were retrieved during this excavation, apart from two pieces of worked flint from the topsoil.
