Mine - copper

The National Monuments Service's description

170m W of bridge in Barnancleeve gap, 4m N of E-flowing stream, on E slope of the mountain, c. 6m SW of a smaller working (CO139-048----). It is one of 31 copper mines belonging to Mount Gabriel Prehistoric mining complex (CO139-026001-). This large inclined underground working was recorded by Duffy (1929, unpublished field sheets, Geological Survey of Ireland) and Jackson (1968). It is driven 280° into the base of an E-facing rock scarp (H c. 3.8m). Inspection in 1984 revealed a substantial rubble floor deposit with stone maul fragments on the surface, and flooding near the backwall. The mine was accessible over c. 9m, and had an unusually narrow entrance (Wth 1.8m; H 1.4m) for a working of this size. The interior narrowed towards the backwall (Wth 4.6m max; H 0.7-1.5m). The hanging wall had a smooth concave profile typical of fire-setting. Outside the entrance, the spoil spread covered an area of c. 200m² to an unknown depth, and was bordered to the S by a stream (Wth 07-1.1m) that contained large stone slabs. The E periphery of the spread was eroded, exposing stone mauls. (O'Brien 1987, and 1994, 300-2: mine 1).

This is a National Monument in State Care.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992) and William O’Brien’s monograph ‘Mount Gabriel, Bronze Age mining in Ireland’ (Galway: Galway University Press, 1994).

Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

Image attached:
CO139-047----_01: Interior of the mine (in O'Brien 1994, 302).

References

O'Brien, W. 1987 Primitive copper mining in south-west Ireland, 3 vols. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. University College, Cork.

O'Brien, W. 1994 Mount Gabriel: Bronze Age mining in Ireland. Galway University Press.

Jackson, J.S. 1968 Bronze Age copper mines on Mount Gabriel, west County Cork, Ireland. Arch. Austriaca 43, 92-103.