2012:668 - Coomnakilla South, Kerry

A souterrain was discovered by the landowner during the removal of topsoil and gravel adjacent to a hut site and children’s burial ground. The discovery was reported to the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and it was recommended that a survey of the souterrain be undertaken and that the excavated ground around the souterrain be reinstated under archaeological supervision. A fulacht fiadh was also discovered at the site which had been disturbed during topsoil removal carried out previously.

The souterrain consists of four tunneled chambers linked by three passages. The passage walls are of drystone construction utilizing the local sandstone which is available in abundance. Groundworks had caused extensive damage to the souterrain. No evidence of the original entrance survives. Passage 1 is aligned in an east-west. The dry stone passage walls are slightly corbelled. A chamber is located at each end of the passage. Chamber 1 is earth-cut from the stony clay with a dome shaped roof. Chamber 2 is located at the other (western) end of Passage 1. Much of the chamber was destroyed by the mechanical excavator, however, it appears to have been morphologically and structurally similar to chamber 1 being earth-cut, sub-rectangular in plan and N-shaped in profile. Passage 2 (linking Passage 1 and Chamber 3) has entirely collapsed and is barely discernible from the surface. A constriction leading to the passage is located directly south and at a right angle to Passage 1. It has entirely collapsed but it is possible to determine the constricted entry. This passage could not be entered but it was established that it is of dry stone construction and it is possible that the passage leads to another as yet undiscovered chamber to the south-east. No evidence of the access between Passage 2 and Chamber 3 survive. Chamber 3 is almost completely destroyed. The limits of the chamber are not completely visible but it displays close parallels to Chambers 1 and 2, being earth-cut and sub-rectangular in plan. Access from Chamber 3 to Passage 3 is through a simple constriction. The passage is constructed on an north-north-east/south-south-west axis. All seven lintels on the passage roof are intact and no dislodged stones were noted in the sidewalls. The walls of the passage are constructed of roughly coursed stones. The back (south-western) wall of Passage 3 contains a constricted entry to Chamber 4. Entry to the chamber was prevented as a result of the accumulation of silt on the passage floor which had limited the chamber opening to just 0.2m in height. The chamber is earth-cut and sub-circular in plan with a dome-shaped roof.

A fulacht fiadh was recorded during monitoring of backfilling works. A shallow spread of charcoal-enriched black silt and burnt stones measuring 11m in length was recorded within the 2m wide trench. A possible trough was noted on the eastern limits of the spread indicated by the presence of several large stones.

Mizen Archaeology, 61 Lady's Cross, Clonakilty, Co. Cork