County: Cork Site name: Coolyhane 2
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: E004976
Author: John O'Connor, Rubicon Heritage Services Ltd
Site type: Prehistoric Burnt Mound
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 534620m, N 573577m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 51.910499, -8.950262
Excavation by Rubicon Heritage Ltd at Coolyhane 2 was undertaken as part of the N22 Baile Bhuirne–Macroom Road Scheme (Lot 3) Archaeological Consultancy Services Contract. The excavation was carried out on behalf of Cork County Council and funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland.
The excavated features consisted of the remnants of a burnt mound, a possible trough and 4 stake-holes. The remnant of the mound was truncated by a modern pipe trench to facilitate drainage. All that remained was a thin spread of loose dark brown to black sandy silt and heat-shattered sandstone with frequent charcoal flecks. It measured 0.05 m deep, 0.24 m wide and 0.8 m long from northwest to southeast.
The possible trough was ovoid in plan with the long axis orientated from northwest to southeast. It had rounded corners with a gradual to sharp break of slope at the top and sides sloped at c.45˚. The sides broke gradually to a flat ovoid base. It measured 0.30 m deep, 1.24 m wide and 1.90 m long. The trough contained a single fill of moderately compact grey brown silty clay with frequent inclusions of medium to large sub-angular stone, some heat shattered along with occasional charcoal inclusions. Four stake-holes were also recorded, one along the southern edge of the trough and four more between the trough and mound remnant.
Analysis of the charcoal fragments recovered showed that a variety of species were utilised; alder dominated, with lesser amounts of hazel, cherry-type, pomaceous fruitwoods, gorse and birch. The majority of the charcoal identified contained between 2 and 8 annual growth rings and were classified as being from both small and larger branchwood/heartwood since the growth rings displayed a strong to weak curvature profile.
Two radiocarbon dates were obtained from gorse and cherry-type charcoal for the spread of heat-shattered stone and primary fill of the trough, respectively. These indicated that the burnt mound activity recorded at the site dated to the Middle Bronze Age.
Unit 2, Europa Enterprise Park, Midleton, Co. Cork
