House — Bronze Age in Ballybrowney Lower

This is one of a group of three houses (see CO044-073009-, CO044-073-011-) which was excavated in 2003 in advance of the construction of the N8 Rathcormac-Fermoy Bypass. This circular house (diam. 6.9m) comprised a slot-trench, a ring of six internal post-holes and a central post-hole. A second, smaller post-hole near the centre of the interior may have held a post which supported the main central post. The entrance faced SE but only one entrance post-hole survived, the second was probably located c. 1m to the S, in an area which was extensively disturbed. A Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age radiocarbon date was returned for charcoal samples taken from the slot-trench of this house but, according to the excavator, it is likely that this date was obtained from residual material left over from some earlier unidentified phase of occupation and was not related to the excavated structure (Cotter 2006c, 25). The excavator noted that this house was almost identical to one of the other houses (CO044-073009-) in the group, located 5.6m to the S and dated to the Bronze Age (ibid., 15). Because of the proximity and similarity of the three houses, it is assumed that they were contemporary. (Cotter 2006a, 34-5; 2006c) The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). Date of upload: 22 December 2009