Man-made underground passage in Ballynacarriga (imokilly By., Youghal Par.)

This Man-made underground passage was discovered in 2001 during archaeological excavations in advance of the N25 Youghal Bypass. The earth-cut Man-made underground passage, which was situated in the E half of an enclosure (CO067-086----), was L-shaped in plan and comprised two passages connected by a narrow creepway. The NW-SE orientated passage (L 7m; Wth 1.2m; H c. 0.8m) consisted of vertical sides and well-rounded steeply sloping ends. Near the NW end of the NE side of this passage is an earth-cut step that, according to the excavators (Noonan et al. 2004, 25-6), was probably the entrance. The second passage (L 5.2m SW-NE; max. H 0.75m) joined the first passage near the SE end of the NE side. This latter branch extended SW-NE and then turned to the SE for a further 3.7m. According to Noonan et al. (ibid., 26), this tailing-off of the passage was possibly an exit from the feature. Two of the deposit layers within the passages contained quite frequent charcoal fragments, which may have been evidence for burnt timber lining or structural supports. The ceiling of the creepway, which was an inverted V-shape, may have been roofed by timber planking which had subsequently rotted, retaining its original shape (ibid.). Similar to another Man-made underground passage (CO067-086003-), excavated c. 20m to the W, it is possible that the passages were timber lined, though, apart from a large amount of charcoal recovered from one of the fills, no definite evidence of this survived. (Noonan 2003e, 29-30; Noonan et al. 2004) The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). Date of upload: 22 December 2009