2014:078 - BALLYMACKEAN, Cork

Site investigations under an extension to licence 12E0376 continued at this site in 2014 as part of a conservation project at the 19th-century Signal Tower on the Old Head of Kinsale. Monitoring of the removal of the sod layer was undertaken during the creation of a footpath within the signal tower enclosure and an external car park in a field to the north. This incorporated the use of a metal-detector to assist in artefact retrieval (13R067). As demonstrated during the previous phases of test trenching at this site the ground levels around the tower were severely impacted upon by the removal of much of the topsoil from the site during the 20th century. The line of the footpath was moved to avoid a shell-filled pit identified to the north of the tower during the 2013 phase of test trenching and this feature remains in situ.

The fragmentary remains of a slate floor were exposed within the signal tower during the 2013 manual excavation of an overburden deposit of silty sand material. The majority of the slates were broken into small fragments and, following consultation with the NMS, they were removed under licence in 2014. The underlying sandy silt bedding layer was then manually reduced to a depth of 0.25m in order to facilitate the creation of a replacement floor. The reduction of this layer exposed a series of ground floor joist holes along the base of the north and south walls indicating that the slates had replaced an original timber floor. A centrally-placed stone-lined post-hole, measuring 0.6m in diameter, was also exposed underneath the slate floor. The top of this feature was blocked by a number of inserted slates and following their removal the post-hole was revealed to be a hollow, stone-lined feature measuring 0.9m deep. The central location of this feature, in combination with its substantial depth and comparatively narrow diameter, indicated that it had supported a well-secured structural timber. There were no inclusions noted during a visual inspection of the sandy silt at the base of the post-hole and the feature will be preserved in situ. Further monitoring of landscaping works around the tower will be undertaken in 2015.