County: Cork Site name: GURTEENARD/PULLEEN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 11E0134
Author: Elizabeth Byrne
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 539193m, N 602329m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.169424, -8.888925
An impact assessment to include pre-development testing was requested by Cork County Council prior to planning permission being granted to Kanturk AFC to construct a new clubhouse, astroturf pitch and associated site facilities on the southern outskirts of the town. The northern section of the playing fields are located within the designated zone of archaeological potential of a possible horizontal watermill (CO023-319) and are also close to Kanturk Castle (CO023-120) on the east side of the River Allow.
Four test trenches were placed in those areas of the site that were to be subjected to maximum ground disturbance. Test Trench 1 was centrally positioned in the development site and ran north–south between the main playing field and the training pitch. It measured 47.4m in length and was excavated to a maximum depth of 1m at its northern end. The soil profile consisted of brown stony topsoil overlying mottled grey sticky clay. There was evidence for considerable disturbance of the natural ground at the northern end of the trench, where the ground had been levelled during the construction of the main playing pitch to the west. This disturbance extended from the northern edge of the trench for a length of 32m. Beyond that an east–west-flowing spring was exposed, which resulted in the ground here becoming extremely wet. There was no evidence for ground disturbance to the south of the stream; the average depth of the topsoil here reached 0.7m and overlay firm, mottled grey/orange, relatively stone-free subsoil.
Test Trench 2 was placed east–west along a parking area to the immediate south of the proposed location for the clubhouse. It measured 10m in length and was excavated to the level of the natural subsoil. The topsoil measured 0.3m in depth and overlay a brown dense clay, 0.5m deep, which in turn overlay a grey loam excavated to a depth of 50mm.
Test Trench 3 was situated at the northern end of the development site, along the east–west footprint of the proposed clubhouse. It measured 15m in length and was excavated to the level of the natural subsoil. The soil profile consisted of topsoil overlying a deep layer of B-horizon (max. depth 1.3m), which in turn overlay the natural subsoil, consisting of a stone-free, grey, coarse sandy clay. The depth of the topsoil decreased as trenching proceeded to the west, where it reached an average depth of 0.75m.
Test Trench 4 was excavated to the south of the existing training pitch and was placed east–west across the long axis of a proposed astroturf pitch. It was 25m long and was excavated to a maximum depth of 1.17m. The soil profile was similar to that noted in other areas and consisted of loose brown stone-free topsoil overlying mottled orange/grey coarse sandy subsoil.
No features or finds of archaeological significance were found in any of the excavated test trenches.
Old Constabulary Barracks, Castlelyons, Co. Cork
