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Excavated by M.J. O'Kelly in 1951 (O'Kelly 1954, 105-17; Ballyvourney I). Excavation revealed a wood- and stone-lined trough, two hearths, stone-lined pit, a wooden hut and a dump of burnt broken stones.
The Trough: Wedge-shaped (L 1.8m; Wth 1m; D 0.4m; long axis NW-SE). SW andNE sides entirely wood (birch and oak); other sides partly wood, partly stone. One oak plank on floor at NW end. Pit for trough dug into peat; moss and peat used as packing between wood and sides of pit. Excavator suggests moss acted as coarse filter for water seeping through trough.
Primary Hearth: At SE end of trough and constructed at same time. Delimited by arc of six low stones (C 4.5m), opening towards trough. Deposit of burnt material (D 0.12m) inside arc; thin scatter of burnt stone and charcoal outside back of hearth. Subsequently narrowed and eventually, after disuse, covered by flags to provide access to trough.
Secondary Hearth: At NW end of trough; replaced primary hearth. Delimited by arc of 11 slabs embedded in peat and opening towards trough (C 4.7m); also subsequently narrowed.
Stone-Lined Pit: To NE of trough. Wedge-shaped (L 2m; Wth N end 1.8m; S end 0.8m; D 0.6m). Floor paved with slabs. Stones blackened and fire cracked. Excavator suggests use as oven. Spread of charcoal extending N from pit.
Wooden Hut: To SW of trough, approached by line of stepping stones. Oval area defined by 10 posts (long axis 5.6m; short axis 4m); one off-centre post. Internal structure - four small post holes forming a rectangle (L 2m;Wth 0.95m) - possibly a bed or 'butcher's block'; two post holes 1.85m apart possibly a meat rack; small circular pit (diam. 0.58m) dug into floor. Broken burnt stone occurred in almost every part of site but the main concentration was on rising ground to W. Calculations established total of 27 cubic metres of material. Finds included five stone discs and a stone pounder. Reconstruction of site and cooking experiments followed excavation.
The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 3: Mid Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.
Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009
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