Carrigfadda and the western Argideen valley. Map of megalithic sites listed in the Archaeological Inventory of Cork, 1992.
Image credit: Gordon Kingston
Sites in County Cork
Images
This is the ‘Clear Island Stone’, found on the island off the south coast of Cork then brought to the mainland and finally to it’s resting place in the Cork Museum. What a wonderul piece of carving work!
Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com 2007
Articles
“This house was likely built by some of the earliest faming communities to settle in the Cork Harbour region and is assumed to have housed a single family group,” the video explains.
IRISH ARCHAEOLOGISTS have made an incredible discovery in Cork, having unearthed the foundations of a house from the Neolithic era.
The ancient house is believed to be 5,700 years old, and was likely the home of a family from one of the earliest farming communities to have settled in the south of Ireland.
The house, dating back to approximately 3,700 BC, was unearthed following recent excavations by archaeologists after Cork County Council began two road realignment projects between Mallow and Mitchelstown in north County Cork.
I picked this up in Bantry yesterday;
skibbereenbookshop.com/books/irish-interest/751-the-sun-circles-by-jack-roberts.html
Not an academic volume, but very comprehensive and worth getting hold of if you’re interested in the circles of West Cork.
Anthony Murphy has a podcast here;
blog.mythicalireland.com/2013/09/podcast-interview-with-jack-roberts.html
CONSERVATION GROUP Friends of the Irish Environment has called for the “full weight of the law” to be brought to bear following the complete destruction of two ancient ring forts located in Co Cork.
The group has written to Minister for the Environment John Gormley calling for prosecutions to follow the recent destruction of the two forts in north Co Cork.
The ring forts were located in the townland of Knockacareagh, near Kilmurry, Co Cork.
One was oval and measured almost 60m in an east-west direction, 48m in a north-south direction, and was enclosed by a two-metre high earthen bank.
Archaeologists had found the remains of cultivation ridges crossing its interior.
The other ring-fort was circular and slightly smaller, measuring just more than 33 metres, and was surrounded by a two-metre high earthen ditch. It featured numerous cattle gaps across its bank.
However, both structures have been completely levelled. No above-ground trace remains. All their earthen banks have been removed and filled in.
Further details from the Irish Times (10.8.2010) and Irish Examiner (9.8.2010):
irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0810/1224276470654.html
irishexaminer.com/ireland/inquiry-after-two-ring-forts-destroyed-127349.html#ixzz0x5L9TSYQ
I’m not sure which Irish paper this appeared in , I was handed a photocopy of the article by a bloke who knew I was interested in such things. The article is by Sean O’Riordan and was published on 19-11-03
“Archaeologists have discovered a Bronze Age settlement and a number of other significant finds on the proposed route of a multi-million euro bypass in County Cork.
National Roads Authority project archaeologist Ken Hanley confirmed yesterday that they had made a very exciting find near the village of Rathcormac.
Pottery found on the site at Ballybrowney lower, one mile west of the village indicates it was inhabited around 1,600BC.
The site had three large enclosures and was surrounded by timber defences which were probably around 10ft high.
“A site of this type was unknown in Cork before this,” Mr Hanley said.
Inside the defences there is evidence of a home which was lived in by a high ranking person, he said. A detailed report has been sent to Duchas who will decide where to extend the excavations. Some of the 65 archaeoilogists who worked on the project believe the site could be considerably larger. The site has been preserved in case of future research.
A number of other discoveries have also been made along the 17km route of the bypass which will link Watergrasshill and Fermoy.
The oldest site uncovered is Neolithic and dates from around 3,000BC. This was discovered at Curraghprevin, just south of Rathcormac.
There archaeologists found what appeared to be a temporary enbcampment occupied by “a small hunter-gatherer unit”. Mr Hanley said pottery had been discovered in pits and these items had been sent to specialists for analysis. Cooking pits were also found during the excavations.
A total of 15 of these cooking pits or Fulachta Fiadh have been identified along the bypass route.
“The vast majority are Bronze Age and radio carbon date from 1,800BC to 800BC” Mr Hanley said.
Evidence of a Bronze Age cremation and burial was also found on a hill slightly south of the town of Fermoy.”
showbizireland.com/news/may03/01-flatley26.shtml
Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley landed smack-bang in the middle of an important cultural heritage site on the grounds of his new home Castlehyde in Cork on Monday.
Michael Flatley seems to be never far away from controversy and the 6 euro million refurbishment of his mansion in Cork hasn’t been without delays and setbacks.
So when his workmen uncovered a 4,000 year old burial chamber while digging a septic tank on the grounds it might have been less complicated for the billionaire to simply cover it up and say nothing.
But not Michael! The talented dancer and businessman is delighted with the find which uncovered two perfect earthenware jars last Monday.
He told the Evening Herald: “It’s just incredible. It’s possible there is a whole Bronze Age graveyard in this area. There certainly should be a major study done on this site, and what else could be lying undiscovered?”
The following story was reported at..
unison.ie/corkman/stories.php3?ca=40&si=673169&issue_id=6727
A KILNAMARTYRA farmer got a little more than he bargained for when he discovered two underground tunnels last week whilst making a gallop to train his greyhounds.
The tunnels situated directly beside a ditch are over a meter in height and particularly well preserved.
“I was told the tunnels were over 1,500 years old. I plan to make the tunnels safe and leave them there for future generations.
“I have marked the tunnels into a map and the Archeologists are sending me out a plaque to erect near the tunnels,” said John.
Ursula Egan, of the Cork Archeological Survey group, which is based in University College Cork, visited the site.
Ms Egan described the tunnels as ‘souterrains‚, the French word for an underground chamber.
“They are in a remarkable condition and probably date back to the time of Saint Patrick making them about 1,500 years old.
The following is a list of town-land names that I have translated from the map (in ‘images’) above. In order to keep clutter on the (small-scale) picture to a minimum, I have only inscribed those town-lands that contain megalithic remains. For this same reason I have omitted two standing stones from the sketches in Coolnaconarty. The topographical names appear in bold print on the map and are listed in the second section.
I
Reavouler; Baldir’s Plain; Standing Stone
Killinga; Church of the (Finger) Nail; Standing Stone (Possible Stone Pair)
Curraghnaloughra; Moor of the Rushes; Standing Stone
Garryglass; Green Moor; Stone Circle
Tullig; Gentle Hill; Standing Stone
Reanascreena; Plain of the Shrine; Stone Circle
Milleenagun; Hillock of the Hounds; Standing Stone, Wedge Tomb
Lettergorman; Gorman’s Hillside; Standing Stone, Four-Poster, Stone Circle
Knockawaddra; Hill of the Dog; Stone Pair, Stone Row
Maulatanvally; Hillock of the Old Town; Anomalous Stone Group, Stone Circle
Glanbrack; Speckled Glen; Anomalous Stone Pair, Stone Circle
Carrigagrenane; Rock of the Sun; Two Stone Circles
Sarue; (In this case; the Blind) Stream; Stone Pair
Inchinattin; Meadow of the Furze; Standing Stone
Coolnaconarty; Corner of the Hounds; Five Standing Stones (inc. Possible Anomalous Stone Pair)
Knocks; Hills; Standing Stone (Possible Stone Pair), Stone Pair (Possible Stone Row), Two Stone Circles
Derreen; Oak Grove; Standing Stone
Caherkirky; Fort of the Moors; Standing Stone, Two Boulder Burials
Knockatlowig; Hill of the Host (of People); Stone Row
Ahagilla; Field of the Standing Stones; Stone Circle
Coolcraheen; Crahen’s Corner; Standing Stone
The area included is approximately 14km from east to west and 9km north to south; the western Argideen river-valley, the hills around Carrigfadda and “a remarkable concentration of recumbent stone circles, Five-Stone rings and Four Posters.“* The relevant name-translations are based on information provided at https://www.logainm.ie, with the exception of the following; Reavouler, Garryglass, Reanascreena, Carrigagrenane, Sarue, Caherkirky, Knockatlowig, and Ahagilla.**
*Burl, “A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany”, 2005; 227.
**Reavouler; “Mowler’s Plain” in logainm.ie. The ‘v’ sound in the name and the presence of a ‘d’ in the earliest examples (Revaldir etc.) inclined me instead towards the use of Baldir or Balder, similar to the translation of Carhoovauler in the same resource; “Boulder’s Quarter”.
Garryglass; “Green Garden” in logainm.ie. Although this is a perfectly valid translation, with precedent elsewhere in the country, the local pronunciation of the name and the type of landscape, have inclined me towards “curry” (marsh/moor), rather than “garry”.
Reanascreena; Not translated in logainm.ie; “Ring of the Shrine” in Burl (2005); According to P.W. Joyce “Reidh” is a coarse mountain flat (plain), which makes sense in the context of this town-land’s location.
Carrigagrenane; “Rock of the Bower/Arbor” in logainm.ie; “Rock of the House of the Sun” in Burl (2005); Local pronunciation drops the final syllable of the town-land’s name and the area is referred to by the older generation, in English, as “Sunny Rock”. At the risk of being romantic, I followed this convention.
Sarue; “Overpowering, Profaning” in logainm.ie. According to Joyce “Sruth” is a stream.
Caherkirky; “The Hen’s Stone Fort” in logainm.ie. “Corcach” meaning marsh or moor seems more plausible than “Cearc” as a basis for “Kirky”, yet the pronunciation of that term, as evidenced in other local names, is not exactly like that found here. Not sure about this one.
Knockatlowig; Not translated in logainm.ie. According to Joyce “Sluagh” is a host or great grouping of people.
Ahagilla; Not translated in logainm.ie. According to Joyce “Achadh” is a field and “Gall” a standing stone, or foreigner.
II
An tAirgidin; Silver River
Carrigfadda; The Long Rock
Loch Atarriff; Lake of the Bull
Glashagleragh; Noisy Stream
Clashatarriff; Furrow of the Bull
Blind Stream
Corran Lake; Lake of the Cairn
Curraghalicky Lake; Lake of the Flagstone Moor
An tSaobhnósach; River of False Custom
themodernantiquarian.com/forum/?thread=48142&message=600210
themodernantiquarian.com/forum/?thread=23046&message=615648
I’d concur with Iron Man’s recommendation on this handy tourist field guide. Used this little booklet extensively whilst visiting sites in Cork last year. The book (ISBN 1 901983519) includes a map with some stylised pen and ink drawings. Similar publications I found of use when planning visits to sites were “Antiquities of West Cork” by the same author (ISBN 1 001083101) and an illustrated map/guide “Antiqities of the Beara Peninsula”. All three can be purchased from good sized local Tourist Information Ofiices.
For the completist, I also found the following in a bookshop in Bantry very useful:
An Archaeological Survey of the Mealagh Valley (1998) David Myler (ISBN 0 95349280X).
Anyone wishing to spend time visiting the stone circles of this area should try and pick up a copy of Jack Roberts’ excellent ‘Stone Circles of Cork and Kerry – an astronomical guide’, available from most of the tourist information centres (I picked up my copy from the shop in Bantry for 7 euro, which was roughly £4.30 sterling at the time of writing). The notes on the back of the book read:
There are over 100 stone circles in the Cork/Kerry region, the greatest concentration of Stone Circles to be found in Europe. They are of a unique type, the most distinct feature being their astronomical-calendrical orientation. At many of the circles the astronomical alignment is also harmonised with features of the sacred landscape.
Most of the entries include sketches of the site and/or a plan, with alignments illustrated. The notes include directions for getting to the sites, but be warned, these are not always entirely accurate!
‘Visual rubbing’ of a rock art panel in Derreennaclogh, Co Cork.
Beara Archaeology (West Cork)
There was some recent curiosity on the forum about monument alignments. Here’s a few that have been calculated for the axial stone circles of Cork and Kerry. Crude, but surely within symbolic range.
Nothing like seeing the real thing though, naturally ;)
Article on the astronomical alignments at megalithic sites in Co. Cork which appeared in Antiquity No. 308 June 2006.
