Kiln — corn-drying in Fermoy

At the foot of a steep N-facing slope. This keyhole-shaped corn-drying kiln was excavated in advance of construction along the route of the N8 Rathcormac-Fermoy Bypass in 2003. The bowl (diam. 1.5m; D 0.65m) of the kiln was cut into a natural incline and the flue (Wth 1m; D 0.5m) extended downslope to the S for a distance of 2.5m. The entire structure was lined with mainly unworked angular stones. One of the stones used to line the flue was identified as a fragment of a rotary quern. According to the excavator (O'Connell 2006, 80), another stone used to line the kiln may have been an unfinished rotary quernstone. An additional rotary quern fragment was recovered from the fill of a pit (see CO035-148----) located 15m to the W of the kiln. The hearth area at the S had been disturbed by agricultural activity. The carbonised fill of the bowl produced charred plant remains that were identified as being mainly oats. Charcoal from the same fill has been dated to 1270-1400 cal. AD. A concentration of stake-holes (CO035-148----) was located to the W of the kiln, though no definite structure was identified here. (O'Connell 2006h; 2006i) The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). Date of upload: 22 December 2009