2020:143 - Actons Hotel, Pier Road, Kinsale, Cork

A programme of additional archaeological investigation at the site of the proposed Ancillary Block in the north-western portion of the Acton’s Hotel site on Pier Road, Kinsale, Co. Cork was undertaken in order to satisfy a request for Further Information from Cork County Council. The programme of investigation entailed the reopening of the previously excavated test trenches and the excavation of the intervening space between the two trenches in order to reveal and record the cobbled-like stone surface which was revealed during the previous testing programme (19E0676) and to investigate if any additional archaeological features survived with the area.

No evidence of any walls or structures, medieval or otherwise, or any features or artefacts of archaeological significance was revealed within the cutting. The residual area of cobbling was the only feature of note, with the remainder of the cutting comprising infill layers dating from the late 19th century to the late 20th century. The cobbling represents the remnants of a yard surface, or alternatively, a drainage channel constructed to act as a conduit for water draining eastwards from the rock face to the west. Regardless, the surface was of modern construction as it was set within a layer containing sherds of late 19th-century ceramics. The modern infill layers overlay natural bedrock at the northern end of the cutting and concrete, which itself overlay natural bedrock, at the southern end of the trench.

3a Westpoint Trade Centre, Link Road, Ballincollig, Cork