Enclosure in Loughgur

On rocky pasture on the W-facing slope on a terrace above a low rock cliff on Knockadoon Peninsula, 100m E and overlooking Lough Gur and Garret Island. The cliff-edge enclosure (Site 12) lies within a complex Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement that was discovered during a campaign of archaeological excavation over 18 seasons led by Professor Seán P. Ó Ríordáin at Lough Gur (1954 and Cleary 2018). Archaeological excavations were conducted by Ó Ríordáin at Site G (LI032-022005-) immediately below the enclosure under the cliff face. Archaeological excavations were conducted by Ó Ríordáin at Site H (LI032-022006-) located c. 85m to SSW. Archaeological excavations by Ó Ríordáin at Site 10 (LI032-022003-) are located 105m to SW. Archaeological excavations by Ó Ríordáin at Site A (LI032-022010-) are located 120m to SE. Many other archaeological sites are located on the peninsula, including Circle K (LI032-022028-) located 60m to NE. The site is not depicted on historic OSi maps but is visible on both the OSi orthoimages taken 2005-12 as an oval-shaped cliff-edge enclosure (ext. dims. c. 26.5m N-S; 24m E-W) surrounded by a stone covered earthen bank. It is also visible on Digital Globe orthophoto taken 2011-2013, where a potential circular hut site (ext. diam. 6.5m) is located abutting the inner E enclosure wall. Outline of cliff-edge enclosure visible on oblique aerial photographs taken 14/07/1966 (CUCAP APC089) and taken 20/07/1968 (CUCAP AVT015-017). The W side of the enclosure is defined by the rocky ledge overhanging Site G (LI032-022005-). The site (LI032-022007-), excavated by Ó Ríordáin in 1954, appears to be Site 12 which was never written up by Ó Ríordáin because of his untimely death. The surviving archaeological archive records of Site 12 are scant. Dr Eoin Grogan and Professor George Eogan (1987, 562) described Site 12 ‘as a roughly D-shaped enclosure on the W side of Knockadoon E of and above Site G. No plans or sections of this site survive.’ They further described ‘a steep cliff runs N/S across the W side of the site. On the E side of this a curved wall enclosed a D-shaped area. The W portion of the site is level but towards the E it slopes steeply upwards and is irregular and broken by rock outcrops. The excavation was mainly confined to the W side with cuttings extended out through the enclosure wall at the S and E. This consisted of two rough kerbs of fairly small stones set on the natural rock with some loose pebble fill between them. The wall was best preserved on the N side and although it was visible elsewhere it was more irregular owing to the uneven nature of the ground surface. There was no evidence for an entrance. Even on the level W side the natural rock was very close to the surface and the depth of deposit, including humus, averages only 0.2m. Where there were natural depressions and crevices the deposit was up to 0.3m deep. Although no structural features were found there was evidence for occupation consisting of animal bones, pottery and flints which came from the crevices. The pottery recovered from the excavation was largely ‘Western Neolithic (Class I)’ including other diagnostic Neolithic artefacts including leaf-shaped arrowheads, scrapers etc. On that basis a Neolithic date (c. 3000 BC) is proposed for the enclosure. The cliff-edge enclosure is visible on Google Earth orthoimages taken 07/05/2006; 16/03/2016 and 28/06/2018. To see a 3D model of this house site, visit: https://skfb.ly/oswvD See attached aerial photograph CUCAP AVT017 and Google Earth orthoimages Compiled by: Edmond O’Donovan Date of upload: 10 November 2020