County: Cork Site name: LEITRIM
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 09E0196
Author: Bernice Molloy, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd, 27 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
Site type: Charcoal-production pits
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 586047m, N 600932m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.160050, -8.203927
This site was identified during monitoring of topsoil-stripping of the BGE Curraleigh West to Midleton gas pipeline. The site was located in a pasture field with a slight south-facing gradient in the Blackwater valley. Natural subsoil consisted of compact yellow, water-retaining clay and topsoil varied in depth between 0.1m and 0.25m. Three areas (A–C) were identified as having archaeological potential along a 140m stretch of the gas pipeline corridor. However, some features identified initially during monitoring were deemed non-archaeological upon full investigation and excavation yielded a single charcoal-production pit within each area.
The pit in Area A was subrectangular in plan, with gradual sides and a concave base and measured 1.33m (east–west) by 0.87m. It was 0.11m in depth. It was filled with loose charcoal-rich sand with many charcoal pieces. The pit in Area B measured 1.3m (east–west) by 0.92m and was 0.03m in depth. The cut was subrectangular in plan, with gradual sides and a concave base, and was filled with charcoal. The pit in Area C was also subrectangular in plan, with gradually sloping sides and a flat base. It measured 0.84m (north-west/south-east) by 0.63m and was 0.03m in depth and the fill consisted of charcoal-rich clay sand with many charcoal pieces. This pit was radiocarbon-dated to AD 1159–1252 (UB 13625).
