2017:214 - Bantry Bay Inner Harbour, Cork

Monitoring took place of dredging works associated with Bantry Inner Harbour Development. Twenty timbers and an anchor chain were recovered during the dredging operations. The timber assemblage included at least three frames, six planks, a sternpost, two internal structural elements and eight amorphous pieces. Most of the recovered timbers were poorly preserved and/or extensively damaged by the wood-boring mollusc Teredo navalis and gribble. While several of the timbers were identified as Quercus sp., none were suitable for dendro-dating. Some timbers are very similar and may and have formed part of the same vessel. There were no intact, or coherent sections of vessels and the entire assemblage may represent several separate wooden vessels. Given the history of activity at Bantry Harbour the recovery of isolated timbers from the marine sediment is not unexpected. Their deposition may have resulted from a wrecking event, the deterioration of laid-up vessels, or being discarded during boat repairs.

The Forge, Innishannon, Co. Cork