House - Neolithic

The National Monuments Service's description

This house was excavated in 2002 in advance of the construction of the N22 Ballincollig Bypass. The rectangular house (int. 5.5m E-W; 4.5m N-S) comprising slot-trenches (max. Wth 0.5m; max. D 0.27m) which held the burnt remains of upright timber planking and stakes along the S, E and slightly curved W walls. Two internal posts may have accommodated upright posts to support the roof or acted as part of an internal partition. Post-pits with stone packing were present at all four corners and within the S, E and W walls. A break in the N end of the E wall may represent the entrance. According to the excavator, the house appeared to have been burnt in antiquity while the slot-trenches were truncated by later agricultural activity (Danaher 2004, 60). Three unrelated Bronze Age pits (CO073-121----) were situated less than 5m to the W of this house. Calibrated dates of 3940-3640 BC and 3790-3620 BC were obtained from this Early Neolithic house. (Danaher 2003b; 2004, 60)

The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009).

Date of upload: 22 December 2009