2018:348 - N22 Baile Bhuirne to Macroom, Coolavokig 4 & 5, Cork

Coolavokig 4 & 5 was located on the proposed N22 Baile Bhuirne to Macroom Road Project (Lot 2). The site lay in an area of upland gorse- and heather-covered outcropping bedrock.

Two areas were investigated, each containing a ramp used to provide cart access to some of the numerous small quarries in the bedrock outcrops that dominate the surrounding landscape.

Coolavokig 4 consisted of a ramp that rose from south-east to north-west and turned north-eastwards, rising slightly again towards a bare bedrock outcrop. The ramp was 2.2-2.6m across and was created by revetting the hillside, building a wall to hold in place deposits of stone chippings that were placed in a shallow cut. The wall, which was 18.5m long and was up to 1.2m high, was of dry stone construction using locally quarried stone set in very rough horizontal courses. Late post-medieval pottery was recovered from the ramp’s stone surface deposits.

Coolavkig 5 was very similar to its neighbour in that it consisted of a ramp that rose from east to west, providing cart access to a narrow crevice in the bedrock outcrop that had clearly been used to quarry stone slabs. The ramp was 2.5m across and was created by revetting the hillside, building a wall to hold in place a deposit of stone chippings. The wall, constructed of locally quarried stone, was 12m long and up to 1m high. This ramp appeared to terminate at its north-western end where the quarry crevice extended north-eastwards. It is likely that carts were brought to this location to be loaded with stone from the quarry. A low line of boulders, 4.4m long, 0.6m wide and 0.4m high, may have acted as a backstop for the carts, preventing them falling over the edge of the rock outcrop to the west where the land drops sharply.

Ahish, Ballinruan, Crusheen, Co. Clare