2009:140 - CURRAGH UPPER, Cork

This site was identified during test excavation of the BGE Curraleigh West to Midleton gas pipeline route carried out in February 2009 (see No. 110, 09E091, above) and was excavated in advance of construction. The site was located in the valley of the River Blackwater, which flowed c. 600m to the north and lay immediately north of a shallow drain, which is likely to be a widened and deepened streambed. The site, a fulacht fiadh, yielded a burnt mound, beneath which three troughs were identified. A number of ancillary features, such as pits, post-holes and stone surfaces, were also recorded. Two troughs and four pits were identified underneath the burnt mound. This site was radiocarbon-dated to 829–727 BC.
The two troughs were circular and rectangular in plan. The circular trough measured 1.63m (east–west) in length, 1.55m in width and had a maximum depth of 0.3m and a possible hearth base was identified on the north-western side of the cut. The rectangular trough was partially truncated by the circular trough and measured 0.9m in width and 0.44m in depth. The remains of a stone lining were identified along the western edge of the trough and four stake-holes were identified along the southern extent of the trough. The associated pits varied between 0.9m and 1.42m in length and may represent some form of storage pits. A compacted stone surface measuring 4.2m in length (northeast/south-west) and varying in width between 0.5m and 1m may be some form of pathway to the trough or perhaps a working surface. The burnt mound was oval in plan, measured 16.5m (north–south) in length by 11m and had a maximum depth of 0.3m. A possible hone stone was retrieved from this deposit. Two troughs and a pit were identified truncating the mound and some of the features were sealed by it. These troughs were subrectangular and circular in plan and varied between 2.07m and 3.25m in length. These features may represent a later phase of activity at the site.