2020:256 - Carrignacurra Castle, Inchigeelagh, Cork

Test excavation was carried out around this tower-house ahead of it being restored and made habitable. The tower-house was the principal seat of the O'Leary's, built prior to 1570. It stands on a rock outcrop on the south bank of the River Lee overlooking an historical ford. The surroundings are level, open farmland with Lough Allua and the Shehy Mountains to the west. The initial work involved moving and sorting piles of stones gathered previously for rebuilding. These were all rough field stones apart from three pieces of cut and dressed limestone.
A total of 13 test trenches were excavated by hand. Trenches 1-4 & 6 were in level ground adjacent to the rock where a car park and percolation area are planned. This was originally a garden field and has been partially disturbed in the recent past. Up to 0.8m of a gravelly loam overlay a compact grey/orange gravelly subsoil. No features were noted in this area.
The remainder of the trenches were excavated immediately around the building with three extending out to the east where the entrance is located. Within the larger portion of these trenches was either exposed bedrock or bedrock immediately beneath a fibrous, matted turf. The remaining areas contained a dark brown, loamy topsoil overlying a mid-grey, gravelly deposit containing small sandstone chippings. This deposit was principally found on the lower north-west and north-east corners and is potentially a deposit connected with the tower-house construction. Rock-cut drains were revealed at the south-west and north-east corners while all the bedrock showed signs of having been quarried and shaped by the builders. At the mid-point of T7, along the north wall, a potential basin and drain were revealed situated beneath the garderobe chute.
A metal detector was used but nothing was found apart from modern building material from previous unauthorised works, and farm equipment. In Trench 9 along the southern wall, c.40 rounded river stones were found, each weighing up to 2kg. These could be remnants of cobbling or have been dropped as projectiles from the battlements above.
Planning permission was granted and full excavation at the tower-house began in September, 2020. This has not been completed yet and the excavation report will be added when it has been finished.

Tooreen, Dunmanway, Co. Cork