2010:112 - Bantry, Cork

Monitoring was carried out in Bantry during works on upgrading the existing water and sewerage supply to the town. The overall project involved the construction of a wastewater treatment facility in Beach town land on elevated ground at the east side of the town, the upgrading of the pumping stations located adjacent to Wolfe Tone Square and the construction of approximately 3km of pipework from the town through existing streets, along the foreshore, parallel to the airstrip and along a further short stretch of public road before reaching the treatment works site. The foreshore section of the works was divided into two sections: the installation of a rising main and the laying of an outfall pipe perpendicular to the shoreline. The rising main was laid at low tide by land-based machinery and the writer oversaw this stage of the works. The National Monuments Service, DoEHLG, requested that a suitably qualified marine archaeologist should monitor dredging associated with the laying of the outfall pipe and this work was carried out under licence by the Moore Group, Galway. Archaeological deposits were encountered at various sections along the route of the pipe network and details of the findings are provided below.
The airstrip field
Trenching commenced near the public road at the eastern extremity of the field and progressed westwards towards the beach. A working area measuring approximately 3.5m in width was initially stripped of topsoil and the pipeline trench itself measured 0.6m in width and was excavated to a maximum depth of 1.5m. At about three-quarters of the way along the route two settings of stones were exposed in the northern face of the trench. The first setting (F1) extended east–west for a length of 11m and survived in most places as a single course of large stones sloping downwards from a depth of 1m from the surface at the west side to 1.4m at its eastern limit. The stones were randomly set and consisted primarily of large stones and boulders measuring 0.7m x 0.05m x 0.12m. In places, two courses of stones could be seen but for most of the feature’s length just one course had survived. The stones were set in greyish/brown silt containing occasional charcoal, small amounts of butchered animal bone, corroded iron nails and sherds of early post-medieval pottery, including a Saintonge chaffing dish, German Werna ware and North Devon ware (Clare McCutcheon, pers. comm.). This setting of stones was not damaged during trenching and following recording was left in situ when the trench was backfilled. A second stone feature (F2) was recorded 500m to the east of F1 on the northern side of the trench. It extended 9.65m east–west and at its eastern limit what appeared to be a returning wall stretched the width of the wayleave, extending into the northern baulk. The individual stones varied in size from large boulders (1m x 0.4m x 0.5m) to medium-sized stones (0.5m x 0.6m x 0.3m) with some smaller packing stones used to fill the voids. A concentration of red-brick debris occurred approximately half way along the stone setting consisting of orange crumbly decayed material with a few slightly more intact bricks. The returning north–south wall, which stretched across the entire width of the pipeline trench, measured 3.8m in length and 1.7m in width. It was constructed primarily from large boulders some of the largest examples measuring 1m x 0.5m x 0.7m. Medium-sized stones (0.3m x 0.2m) were set between the large blocks when required. In general the placing of stones for the returning wall was quite irregular compared to the north wall which were more regular, flat and squared off.
The 1842 OS map shows the presence of a structure at this location as well as another longer rectangular structure further to the east and closer to the shoreline. The area is known locally as Dhá Theine, meaning two fires, which probably referred to a house with two chimneys. According to local information, a two-chimney house existed in this area and the chimneys were used as navigation points to steer boats safely into the anchorage at Bantry Harbour. In an article published in the Journal of the Bantry Archaeological Society, local historian Seamus Crowley, in his discussion of the Franciscan friary in Bantry, refers to the granting in 1442 of a papal indulgence for the repair of a Franciscan house and church at Gahanny, in the diocese of Cork, which Donald Oscolly, a friar OFM, had founded and built with the aid of alms. No other record exists of this friary, some having associated it with Goleen (Gabhlin-an-Gaithneamha). Crowley tentatively suggests that the placename Dhá Theine seems phonetically more akin to ‘Gahannyh’. However, the fragmentary remains of the stone structure uncovered during trenching along the airstrip is unlikely to represent the remains of an early Franciscan foundation and, given the recovery of fragments of post-medieval pottery, is more likely to represent the remains of the navigational point, the Dhá Theine, the building seen on the 1842 edition of the OS maps.
An alternative suggestion is that the exposed wall footings, given their location so close to the beach, represent the remains of one of the several fish palaces known to have been built in the area for the processing of pilchards which were extensively fished in post-medieval times. Several fish palaces were constructed for saving, preserving and salting pilchards in the many creeks around Bantry Bay (Hourihan 1985). The structural remains found in the airstrip field are very incomplete and, given the limitations of the excavated area, it was difficult to interpret the remains to any great degree of accuracy. It is worth noting, however, that an old road still exists near the airstrip and this would have provided ready access to the structure identified during trenching in this area.
The foreshore
An archaeological presence was maintained at all times during trenching along the foreshore from the airstrip field east towards the site of the former abbey. This work was carried out intermittently at low tide and all deposits encountered were of natural origin. The general profile was made up of sand overlying largely undisturbed glacial till varying in colour from yellow to orange to brown and black. In some parts the sand was very dark in colour, hence the local name for this stretch of beach, ‘the black strand’. Nothing of archaeological significance was noted at any stage during the excavation of this trench along the foreshore. It was noted that as the coastline bends towards the site of the abbey, the deposits were saturated in oil representing the residue washed up on to the beach after the disastrous explosion of the oil terminal on Whiddy Island in January 1979.
Blackrock Road
Monitoring was carried out along the public road leading from the graveyard flanking the shoreline towards the centre of the town. A deposit of coarse stone rubble was visible in both sections of the trench below the graveyard and on the town side of the slipway. It occurred 0.4m below the modern road surface immediately beneath an old tarred layer and extended for a length of 4.6m. It varied in thickness from 0.1m to 0.3m. At first, using the available cartographic evidence, it seemed reasonable that this deposit might represent old house foundations but the locations of the dwelling-houses depicted on the OS map are more likely to be in the vicinity of the modern boatyard across the road. In any case, the same stony layer was exposed again for longer stretches further along the Blackrock Road and all indications were that it represented an earlier road surface. The layer disappeared as the trench progressed towards the town to be replaced by a more uniform glacial till formation.
From the graveyard, the trench extended along the Cork road below Bantry House, where the deposits mostly consisted of made ground. In the section extending in front of the modern boatyard and the gates of Bantry House, the soil profile was made up of large loose beach pebbles, 1m in depth, which had been used to build up the ground surface for the laying of the original road built by Lord Bantry. According to local information, this beach material was drawn in on boats by tenant farmers who were paid one and six pence per boatload by Lord Bantry (J. Crowley, pers. comm.). The hardcore continued to fill the trench beyond the gates of Bantry House, making conditions extremely difficult as the sides of the trench were very unstable. Beyond the gates of Bantry House the nature of the deposits in the trench changed several times with the stones decreasing in size and the sediments becoming more sandy and gritty. All of the exposed material was natural and of no archaeological concern and as the ground had been subjected to considerable disturbance from the installation of previous services a limited archaeological presence was maintained for this section of the pipe network. Full monitoring recommenced as the trench entered the centre of the town and again all deposits were natural with c. 0.6m of road build-up overlying yellow boulder clay (0.8m in depth) which in turn overlay beach gravel and water-rolled stones (0.5m in depth).
East Gate, Bantry House
Archaeological deposits were encountered during the insertion of the rising main along the road in front of the East Gate to Bantry House. Trenching here reached a depth of over 2m and the soil profile consisted of c. 0.8mm of road build-up overlying yellow boulder clay which varied in depth from 1.3m to 1.4m. Much of the area had been disturbed during the insertion of an earlier sewage pipe but in an undisturbed section near the base of the trench a thin layer of black sandy silt with occasional flecks of red brick was exposed. It was located at a depth of 1.3m and extended for a length of 2.9m east–west along the trench and continued under the baulk towards the gates of Bantry House. It measured 0.2m in depth and contained frequent charcoal and comminuted pieces of red brick. A piece of what appeared to be a red tile was embedded in the baulk but it proved impossible to remove. A complete carpal bone from a cow was also recovered from this deposit. This deposit may be associated with the location of the original Bantry Docks, which were planned in 1829 but were eventually built as part of a famine relief scheme in 1859.
The square
The depth of the trench decreased to c. 1m as it approached the square and the soil profile was severely disturbed from the installation of ESB cables and other services. The deposits consisted of black stony sediments measuring c. 0.2m in depth overlaying sandy pink/white clay (depth 0.8m). The excavation trench was extended along the outside of the quay wall to avoid the culvert over the inlet which travels under the square. Trenching recommenced on the far side of the culvert and the deposits here consisted of dark estuarine mud. As the trench extended around the corner towards the pumping station, the soil profile changed abruptly with the estuarine muds being replaced by redeposited mottled orange gravel indicating the disturbed nature of the ground in this area of the town. Archaeological monitoring ceased at this stage.
Reference
Hourihan, J.K. 1985 Town growth in west Cork: Bantry 1600–1920. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 96, 83–97.