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Man-made underground passage in Ballythomas West

Man-made underground passage

What is recorded here

Two earth-cut chambers and a low creepway emerged in Ballythomas West when construction equipment broke the ground in 1980. The first chamber is nearly circular, the second L-shaped, and the passage between them is so short a person must crawl. A blocked shaft still marks the side wall, suggesting the diggers once worked from above before abandoning the hole. Whatever purpose the chambers served, they stopped being useful long before trucks and concrete arrived.
Discovered 1980 during construction of industrial complex (UCC). Two earth-cut chambers linked by creepway. Entrance gained through collapsed roof of chamber 1 - original entrance (Wth 0.6m) infilled at NE end of chamber. Chamber 1 roughly circular in plan (2.4m N-S; 2.2m E-W; H 1.6m). Creepway (L 1.5m; Wth 0.7m; H 0.4m) leads S to chamber 2 - L-shaped inplan; main axis E-W (L 2.5m; Wth 1.9m; H 1m). Blocked construction shaft to E of creepway; visible in SE face of chamber 1 and N face of chamber 2. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1994). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.

What survives
Recorded monument

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