Mine

S of the Skeagh-Mt. Gabriel townland boundary, some 50m S of two other mines (CO139-026003- and CO139-026004-) on a lower extension of the same E-facing scarp face. It is one of 31 copper mines belonging to Mount Gabriel Prehistoric mining complex (CO139-026001-). On inspection in 1984 this mine consisted in an infilled working driven 270° into the base of an E-facing rock scarp. The interior was waterlogged with probable peat deposit, and it was not excavated. It was accessible for a length of c. 4m, though the size of the poil mound associated with the mine suggests it was a lot larger. Outside the entrance (Wth 4.6m; H 1.4m) was a large, semi-circular spoil dump (21m N-S; 12m E-W), covering c. 330m² to unknown depth. Slight erosion on the southern periphery exposed stone mauls fragments. (O'Brien 1987 and 1994, 336: mine 20) This is a National Monument in State Care. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992) and William O’Brien’s monograph ‘Mount Gabriel, Bronze Age mining in Ireland’ (Galway: Galway University Press, 1994). Photograph attached CO139-026005-_01: Mine site (in O'Brien 1994, 340). CO139-026005-_02: Interior of mine (in O'Brien 1994, 341) Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009