Archaeologists working on new motorway route in Cork unearth remains of early Neolithic home

Ken Hanley, who is leading the research for Cork County Council and TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland), said that to date the archaeologists have carried out excavations on approximately 102,000 square metres of ground.

He said the oldest find — the remains of an early Neolithic home, built approximately 5,700 years ago — was unearthed at Ballyhemiken, which is at Rafeen quarry, between the Shannonpark roundabout at the eastern side of Carrigaline and the village of Shanbally.

It was home to probably the first farmers to settle in the region.

“It was one house but there may be more of them in the wider area," said Mr Hanley.

"These were owned by the first farming communities to come into the country from continental Europe. Before that, Ireland was populated by a nomadic hunter-gatherer society. 

"This is the ninth such house from that era discovered in Co Cork and all have been unearthed during roads projects. The people living in this house were herding livestock and growing crops,” Mr Hanley said.

Bronze Age (circa 2,200-800BCE) cremation sites were discovered at Loughbeg, Ringaskiddy, and at the townland of Carrigaline Middle, which is near Ballyhemiken.

Mr Hanley said there is evidence that one was an organised cemetery where ashes were covered in stone-lined pits by pottery (urns) and food vessels were left alongside them to nourish the dead in the afterlife.

The remains of Bronze-age houses were also discovered at Raffeen and Barnahely, the latter of which is to the south of the traffic lights by the Port of Cork’s main terminal entrance.

Meanwhile, Mr Hanley said early medieval settlements were also uncovered at Ballinrea and at Barnahely, with the latter comprising multiple enclosures.

“These roughly date back to around the 8th century and probably belonged to the prominent clan in the area until the Anglo-Normans arrived,” he said.

Mr Hanley said that a roadside excavation carried out just to the west of the Shannonpark roundabout could be “Cork’s earliest roadside service station”. 

It appears to have been an ironmongery, which provided fixes for transport passing between Cork city and the Carrigaline/Ringaskiddy area and vice versa, and for the local population.

This was a large 17th-century forge, Mr Hanley said, which not only provided services such as fixing transport carts and horseshoes for passing tradesmen, but also repaired household items for locals.

At the time, Ringaskiddy is believed to have been a small fishing port, totally unlike the large, industrialised harbour area it is today.

The most recent discovery comprised a suspected settlement enclosure of late medieval date (late 13th or 14th century AD) found at Ballinimlagh townland.

"This site continued to be occupied as a small farmstead up to the 17th century, when there is mention in a 1642 deposition by a William Greane, of Ballinimlagh, claiming he was robbed by Catholic rebels of cattle, horses, corn, household goods, and garden fruit, totalling 20 pounds, 18 shillings," Mr Hanley said.

He said the excavations had been “very productive in terms of archaeology” and further research will now be undertaken in the next four to six months with radio-carbon dating to pinpoint the exact dates of their discoveries.