What is recorded here

Excavation near Rathcormac and Fermoy in County Cork uncovered thirty-three small stake-holes, eight shallow pits and two post-holes beside a Bronze Age water feature. The holes held charcoal-flecked clay but never revealed the shape of what they supported. They may have marked a temporary shelter, a fence or an ordinary domestic arrangement now forgotten. The road was built, the trench filled, and the purpose disappeared again.

Discovered in 2002 and subsequently excavated in 2003 in advance of the construction of the N8 Rathcormac-Fermoy Bypass. Excavations revealed a concentration of pits, post- and stake-holes at the S end of the site, to the W of a Bronze Age water collection feature (CO053-104----). Of these features, 33 stake-holes (av. diam. 0.1m; D 0.11) all had similar fills of charcoal-flecked silty clays, but formed no discernible structure. Eight pits, which were mainly subrectangular in shape (1.2m x 0.7; D 0.3m) with stony clay fills, were also recorded with a further two post-holes to the E. None of the features were linked stratigraphically to the adjacent Bronze Age water feature, and, while none of these features have been dated, their proximity to the Bronze Age feature is an indication that they may be of similar date (O'Connell 2006k, 46). A kiln (CO053-105----) was discovered during excavation in the nearby vicinity. (O'Connell 2006a, 75; 2006k) 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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