Building

The National Monuments Service's description

In undulating terrain, c. 1.1km W of the River Nore, under tillage. In Kilferagh, an area c.10-12m N-S by 25m E-W was excavated during the archaeological excavations on the Cork-Dublin gas pipeline (1981-2) (Hurley 1987, 88-100). This area uncovered two roughly parallel ditches running NNW-SSE between 1- 2.5m apart, the wider W ditch (L c. 11m) curving slightly to the N and continuing beyond the edge of the excavation, while the other, to the E (L 0.9m), appears to terminate within the cutting. A corn-drying kiln (KK023-024002-) was located 3.9m W of the wider ditch with an associated yard and hearth. The scant remains of possible stone wall foundations c. 4m NW of the kiln suggested the presence of a house (KK023-024003-), while the N end of a structure (KK023-024004-), 1m SSE of the kiln, was tentatively interpreted as a barn (ibid. 89-93). Associated with the ditches and all the structures was medieval pottery of late 13th/early 14th-century date (ibid. 93-4). The settlement appears to have gone out of use by the late 14th or early 15th century when it was backfilled (ibid. 93).
Though the area excavated was very limited, the presence of several structures in close proximity to the inner, wider ditch suggested that this ditch may have been the fosse of, ‘an enclosed manorial farmstead’ or moated site (KK023-024001-) (ibid. 96).
A semi-circular V-shaped trench (overall Wth 1.55m; Wth at base 0.3m; D 0.3m) located 1m SSE of the corn-drying kiln was interpreted in the excavation report as a ‘barn (?)’, based on the large concentrations of charred seed remains from the trench (ibid. 91). The central area of the trench contained clay oxidised to a bright red, as well as a large concentration of charcoal which was interpreted as a burnt wattle wall (ibid.). The charcoal fragments suggest that the larger posts were ash and oak and the wattle wands were mainly willow and blackthorn (ibid.). A number of pottery sherds and some animal bones were found in the trench (ibid.). The entrance may have been in the SE angle where steps led to the yard associated with the corn-drying kiln (ibid.).

See attached:
KK023-024003-_01 Plan of excavation from Hurley 1987, Fig. 17.2

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 27 July 2021

References

Hurley, M.F. 1987 Kilferagh, Co. Kilkenny. In Cleary, R.M., Hurley, M.F. and Twohig, E.A.(eds), Excavations on the Cork-Dublin gas pipeline (1981-2), 88-100. Cork. Department of Archaeology, University College Cork.