2011:109 - CAPPAGH, KINSALE, Cork

A geophysical survey, test trench excavations and metal-detecting were carried out prior to a proposed extension to a Gaelscoil on the western outskirts of the Kinsale town suburbs. The school is in the south-east corner of a large tillage field 1km to the west of the medieval walled town, and within the Zone of Archaeological Potential for the potential site of a ‘military fortification’ (CO112-090---) associated with the 1601–2 Siege of Kinsale. A mound and hollows were tentatively identified as the remains of an entrenched siege position in this general area in the 1930s. There were no visible surface traces of these features when the field was inspected by the Cork Archaeological Survey in 1992. The school was constructed in 2007, and a number of modern houses on the opposite side of the road to the south are also within the Zone of Archaeological Potential. There are no entries in the Excavations Bulletin associated with any of these developments. Aerial photographs taken prior to the construction of the school were consulted and no traces of a levelled site were noted.

The geophysical survey was undertaken by Target Archaeological Geophysics (11R0032) and no features associated with a fortification were identified. A number of narrow linear features and isolated anomalies at the northern end of the development area were interpreted as of archaeological potential, although geological or recent agricultural origins were not discounted. The survey also highlighted extensive plough disturbance throughout the proposed development site.

Test trenches were subsequently excavated across the areas to be affected by the proposed development, and their layout was designed to intersect with the anomalies of archaeological potential. The upcast ploughsoil from the trenches was metal-detected (11R0048), as was the ground surface of the remainder of the development area. The isolated anomalies correlated with oxidised bedrock outcrops and the shallow linear features were agricultural in origin. According to landowner information, extensive land improvement works were carried out in recent years to break up natural iron panning on the surface of the poorly draining subsoil. No archaeological features or artefacts were identified in the trenches. The potential location of two siege forts in the lands further to the east and south of the school were noted by the licence-holder during a comparison of the outline of the forts shown on the Boazio 1601 siege map with the layout of field boundaries on the later OS maps. The locations of these potential sites are indicated in the report submitted to the National Monuments Service.

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