2013:022 - Dunbulloge, Cork

Archaeological investigations were undertaken during the reinforcement of the foundations of an existing ESB pylon in Dunbulloge townland, 7km to the north of Cork city. The pylon was erected in the 1960s adjacent to the north-west side of an infilled ditch of a univallate ringfort (CO063-027---). The two eastern pylon legs are located 4-5m from the extant section of the ringfort bank. The orientation of the pylon combined with the curvature of the ringfort has resulted in the north-east leg being set approx. 1m further away from the bank than the south-east example. The pylon was being used as scratching posts by cattle resulting in extensive trampling of the ground surface.
Following consultation with the NMS, two 4m long by 1m wide test trenches were manually excavated on the ringfort side (east) of the two eastern pylon legs in the areas due to be impacted by the proposed foundation extensions. The stony topsoil layer in the northern trench measured 0.4m deep and contained no evident inclusions or artefacts. The curving outer edge of the ringfort ditch was exposed in the south end of the trench at a distance of approx. 1m from the pylon leg. The exposed uppermost ditch fill was composed of a highly compacted silty clay deposit and was exposed to a maximum width of 0.4m wide in the trench. The exposed natural subsoil outside the ditch contained no archaeological features. Based on a projection of the line of the ringfort ditch exposed in the northern trench, it was concluded that the east side of the south-east leg had been partially constructed within the ditch. The test trench in this area was excavated to a depth of 1.2m and the stratigraphy consisted of a 0.25m deep stony topsoil layer that overlay a homogenous layer of angular field stones within an olive brown, sandy clay soil matrix. There was no evident trace of a ditch cut revealed within the test trench and it was not clear if the stone deposit represented a ditch fill or part of the pylon foundations.
The test trench investigations, therefore, confirmed that the existing north-east pylon foundation is outside the line of ringfort ditch while the south-east foundation had truncated the edge of the ditch. The reinforcement strategy for the two eastern pylon legs was re-designed to extend the foundations 2m to the west thereby avoiding further impacts to the ringfort ditch. All ground works during the foundation works were carried out under supervision. No traces of the ditch cut were noted to the west of the south-east leg and it appears that it had been removed by the existing pylon foundation cut to the east. The topsoil and surface of the subsoil layer were found to have been disturbed by a combination of the existing pylon foundations and cattle trampling and nothing of archaeological significance was noted.

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