What is recorded here

Excavations in 1990 revealed a curving V-shaped fosse beside Skeam Church, suggesting the island once wore a boundary before the sea claimed it. Charcoal and burnt bone filled the ditch, hinting that fire and loss belonged to the place as much as worship. The church still stands above that buried line, marking the point where human ownership ended and the ocean took back the land.

Archaeological excavations took place in 1990 at Skeam Church (CO149-011002-) on the island of Skeam West in Roaringwater Bay (Cotter 1991, 19-20). A short section (L 1m) of a V-shaped fosse (Wth 0.5-1.5m; D 0.7m), the profile of which was visible in the cliff face c. 9m to the S of the church, was excavated. It was c. 0.6-0.8m below present ground level and the bulk of its fill consisted of charcoal-flecked stony soil. A thin deposit of charcoal at the bottom contained fragments of burnt and partialy burnt bone. A single burial overlay the fosse. The fosse appears to curve to the NW and, according to the excavator (ibid.) 'may originally have enclosed the site.' The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

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