What is recorded here

Thirteen small pits and a circular furnace emerged near Rathcormac when the N8 bypass was prepared, preserving a forgotten smithing place beneath ordinary ground. The furnace still held charcoal and metal waste, while one nearby pit contained enough slag to suggest hot work rather than casual burning. For a moment the road works became a witness, saving a little human fire from being lost under asphalt.

Archaeological testing in 2002 revealed a series of charcoal-filled pits, post-holes and areas of burning which were subsequently excavated in 2003 in advance of the construction of the N8 Rathcormac-Fermoy Bypass. A concentration of features discovered near the centre of the site included thirteen pits which ranged in size (diam. 0.25-0.7m; D 0.1-0.27m) and varied in shape from oval to circular. The pits were mainly filled with stone, occasional burnt bone and charcoal fragments. One pit, which was possibly a bloom smithing hearth, contained a large quantity of slag and was situated close to a roughly circular bowl furnace (diam. 0.46m; D 0.12m). The base of the furnace was packed with metallurgical waste and the fill contained large quantities of charcoal. A small limekiln and a series of fosses were revealed to the N of this area. Other features, which included two post-holes, a possible field boundary, a clay spread, a stone-filled pit, a boundary wall and an isolated pit, were considered to be of limited archaeological significance. (Murphy 2006c, 64) The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). Date of upload: 22 December 2009

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