2016:681 - BALLYNAMONA, Cork

Topsoil stripping and groundworks in advance of a proposed development by Mourneabbey Community Council were monitored, as the proposed development site was located 40m from the boundary wall to the Knights Hospitaller Preceptory of Mourneabbey. It was clear from OS maps that a succession of buildings had been built on the development site over many years and subsequently demolished. The most recent of these was a dwelling house dated to the late 20th century, which was demolished c. 2004, when most of the site was stripped of topsoil. Testing on the site in 2003, when that house was still standing, found no archaeology (excavations.ie 2003:0161).

The present monitoring uncovered a 2m long section of wall foundation (0.53m thick) and an adjacent area of cobblestone flooring, c. 3m x 2m in extent, in the area where the recently demolished house had stood. The wall and cobbling are likely to have been part of one of the late 19th- or early 20th-century houses which formerly stood in that area.