Crannog in Ballynacourty

Near Ballynacourty House (TS073-014----) at the base of the S slope of Slievenamuck mountain, on the N side of the Glen of Aherlow. According to a report in the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1892, 441) 'In a field adjacent to the mansion-house of Ballinacourte…some very curious specimens of antiquity have just been unearthed. The find consists of a number of oak planks,which, from their appearance, must have formed portion of an Irish crannog. The planks were found at a depth of six feet [1.8m] under the surface of the field. They measure 8 feet [2.4m] in length and 18 inches [0.45m] in breadth and three inches [c.0.07] in thickness. The kind of timber is what is known as bog oak. On two fothe slabs are very perfect mortise holes, 8 in [0.21m] by 5 in [0.13m]. Another shows a tenon and mortise quite distinctly. The material was lying on the flat, having three pieces standing vertical, one at each of three corners. Fragments of a fourth vertical post were found but decay had effetually devoured it. The field in which the "find" was discovered is hard and dry, having a subsoil of drift grit, four feet deep, lying under a foundation of blue clay. Under this subsoil are immense quantities of bog oak'. The exact location of this monument is unknown. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011