House - 17th century

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture at the centre of a narrow N-S steep sided valley that bisects Knockadoon Peninsula separating Back Hill to the W and Knockmore to the E. Site J (LI032-022024-) was excavated in 1945 by Professor Seán P. Ó Ríordáin (Ó Ríordáin and Ó Danachair 1947). The excavated remains form part of a wider complex of Neolithic, Bronze Age and later settlement that was discovered during a campaign of archaeological excavation over 18 seasons. Archaeological excavations were conducted by Ó Ríordáin at Site I (LI032-022023-) 55m to S; Circle J (LI032-022020-) 120m to SW and Circle L (LI032-022030-) 155m to E. The walls and field systems associated with the site are part of a wider field system (LI032-022001-) surrounding the site (LI032-022024-).
Site J is not depicted on historic OSi maps, but the house foundations are visible on both OSi orthoimages taken 2005-12 and on Digital Globe orthophoto taken 2011-2013. Ó Ríordáin and Ó Danachair (ibid., 39) described the location of the excavation as, ‘further N and higher up the valley [from Site I]. It lay immediately above another of these cultivation terraces, and the N end of the site abutted on the collapsed wall of a potato garden which had been tilled towards the end of the last century’. On excavation the site proved ‘to be an early 17th century house. Even more fortuitous and surprising was the fact that immediately under the floor of this house was found an early habitation level which yielded Neolithic material’. The house was rectangular (ext. dims 17.3m N-S; 6.8m E-W), the internal floor consisted of packed yellow boulder clay. Excavation on the W side revealed two walls projecting from the W wall giving the house an L-shaped plan. A central chimney breast housed two back to back hearths dividing the interior into at least two rooms, a further hearth in the W wall suggests further sub-division. An entrance doorway (Wth. 1.25m) was centrally located in the E wall. A cobbled external paved surface was located outside the house on the S and E side. Post-medieval finds from the house include diagnostic North Devon Sgraffito pottery of 17th century date. A Neolithic hearth associated with contemporary pottery, stone axes and flint was discovered under the post-medieval floor. The enclosure and house platform is partially visible beside semi mature trees on Google Earth orthoimages taken 16/03/2016 and 28/06/2018.The western half of the site remains unexcavated.

See attached Google Earth orthoimages

Compiled by: Edmond O’Donovan

Date of upload: 25 November 2020

References

Ó Ríordáin, S. P. and Ó Danachair, C. 1947 Lough Gur Excavations: Site J, Knockadoon. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 77, 39-52.