Man-made underground passage in Curravordy

In pasture, on a S-facing slope in a field known as 'The Lawn' c. 260m to the SW of Mount Pleasant House. This Man-made underground passage was discovered in 2004 when the ground collapsed. The opening, which resulted from the collapse, was extended by machine prior to investigation. It gave access to a possible chamber (Wth 1.1m; H 0.9m) 0.4m under the present ground level. This contained a possible construction shaft blocked with stones though it is also possible that the feature may have resulted from backfilling a previous collapse which, according to local information, occurred in the 1970s. The Man-made underground passage consists of at least three other chambers. Chamber 2 (2m NE-SW; 1.5m NW-SE; H 1.1m) is oval in plan and stone-built and is entered via a lintelled entrance in its NE end. The walls of this chamber are lined with 13 upright stones (H 0.9m; Wth 0.4-0.6m; T 0.15m). Some packing of earth and small stones was noted behind them. On top of the upright stones are four courses of corbelling capped by a single large stone. A lintelled passage (Wth 0.3-0.6m; H 0.9m; L 1.75m) in the SW end of chamber 1 leads to chamber 3. There is a kerbstone at the SW end of the passage where it leads into chamber 3. Chamber 3 (min. 3m E-W; c. 1m N-S; min. H 1m) is oval in plan and earth-cut and is c. 0.3m below the level of chamber 2. A blocked-up construction shaft is evident in its W end and beside it at SW a passage (L c. 1m; Wth 0.5m) leads into chamber 4. Water, presumably from a spring well, flows down the walls of chamber 3. Chamber 4 (c. 2m N-S; min. 1m E-W; H c. 1m) is earth-cut and has a flat roof. A blocked-up construction shaft is evident at NE. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). Date of upload: 22 December 2009