County: Cork Site name: Dunbittern East, Bantry
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 21E0035
Author: Ed Lyne
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 497993m, N 546703m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 51.663493, -9.474568
Archaeological monitoring was carried out at Dunbittern East, Bantry, Co. Cork, under and directly adjacent to the current N71 national road. This was in an area where the road was straightened pre-1995, running directly over the former location of a cluster of buildings, some of which were depicted on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map of 1841, and one which was depicted on the 3rd edition Ordnance Survey map of 1897.
Monitoring was carried out on two separate occasions, on 28 January and on 15 February 2021. It was apparent from monitoring that when the road was realigned previously, the existing hillside to the north-east had been scarped. Consequently, significant ground level reduction had been carried out and ruled out the possibility of any former structures or other archaeological features surviving at this location.
Monitoring the removal of the current road surface and underlying hardcore material on the opposite, south-west side of the N71 quickly revealed that the ground here had been excavated previously to a greater depth than the current road works would reach, and the area had been filled with introduced stone and gravel. Nonetheless the full length of the trench (excavated in one day) was monitored as a precaution. No remains of the 19th-century structures survive under the modern road at Dunbittern East in the area of the roadworks carried out in 2021.
The investigation exposed no features, structures, deposits or finds of archaeological significance. The work is now complete and no further archaeological work is recommended.
Cork National Roads Office, Cork County Council, Richmond, Glanmire, Cork, T45 WA44
