EMAP_Progress_Reports_2009_2.pdf - The Heritage Council

Cork
Oldcourt, Co. Cork
Early Medieval Settlement Enclosure & Souterrain
Grid Ref: W08663148 (108663/031486)
SMR No: CO141-118001
Excavation Licence: N/A
Excavation Duration/year: 1959?
Site Director: C. O’Cuileanain (Cork Historical and Archaeological Society)
An excavation of a univallate earthen enclosure at Oldcourt in the late 1950s was financed by
a state grant administered through the Royal Irish Academy and the Special Employment
Schemes Office, Dublin. The site consisted of a single bank and external ditch enclosing two
oval shaped buildings, associated hearths and a souterrain. The enclosure is situated on a
slight rise of ground just below the 30.5m contour mark commanding views of a considerable
area of the surrounding countryside.
The site consists of a univallate circular enclosure with an internal diameter of 23m (Fig. 77).
The bank, built from boulder clay from an exterior ditch, was approximately 3.5m high at its
highest point in the south and between 0.9-1.5m high along the north-east quadrant. A
revetment comprising a rough facing of loose built stones was identified along the inner face
of the bank in the southern and eastern cuttings. A trench-like feature which had been
refilled was excavated beneath the bank of the enclosure along its western side and provided
evidence for some form of activity before the enclosure was erected.
The exterior ditch had a depth of 1.95m and a maximum width of 4.5m. Spreads of charcoal
in various deposits of the fill indicated that fires had been lit inside the ditch on a number of
occasions. The entrance was situated on the eastern face of the enclosure and was defined
by a short palisade-revetment trench on its south side and a stakehole on the north
suggesting the presence of a wooden gate structure. It was surfaced with a rough cobble
paving which lead out across a causeway of large boulders and clay which crossed over the
exterior ditch obliquely.
The excavation of the interior revealed a number of pits, three hearths, trenches and a large
collection of post holes. The considerable accumulation of soil blackened by charcoal and
decayed organic matter was suggestive of a relatively long period of occupation. A souterrain
was excavated in the southwest quadrant and consisted of a passage linking four chambers.
A pit beneath a flag in one of the recesses of a chamber contained a bronze-coated iron bell
placed in moss.
Two house plans were identified from the large collection of post holes, hearths and
trenches. House A was probably the earliest structure as it is centrally situated with its
entrance facing the entrance of the enclosure. It had one internal hearth and an oval floor
plan of roughly 10m-12m, defined by post holes, stone settings along its northern side and
drainage trenches on its higher eastern face. House B was situated to the south of House A
and was also oval in plan with measurements of 10.4m-11.5m along its short and long axes.
It may have been erected slightly later than House A since it overlapped this structure to
some extent. Two hearths were probably associated with this structure which was defined by
post holes and a drainage trench forming a concentric arc around its walls.
The excavation established that soil had been moved from the higher eastern half of the site
to the lower opposite area in an attempt to level the interior of the enclosure at a subsequent
period. The soil which had been moved belonged to the primary occupation phase of the site
making it impossible for the excavators to stratigraphically analysis the finds or to accurately
assign post holes and other features to various levels.
The chief iron tools recovered included a ferrule, two tanged knives, a chisel and a number of
slotted and pointed objects. Items of personal adornment included three fragments of a jet
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