Excavation of a Ring-fort at Garryduff, Co. Cork

Abstract

The excavation here briefly described was carried out at the end of the summer of 1945 and though not yet completed, the results already are of such interest as to make publication of this short report desirable. The work is being conducted by Michael J. O'Kelly, M.A., Curator of the Cork Public Museum, and is being financed by means of a special grant made by the Governing Body of University College, Cork.The fort lies on the shoulder of a prominent knoll in the range of hills which divides the eastern part of Cork Harbour from a rich agricultural hinterland extending northward to include the valleys of the rivers Bride and Blackwater. Nearby modern towns of importance are Fermoy, 12 miles to the northwest, and Midleton, 9 miles to the south. The latter stands at the head of a narrow estuary which runs northward out of the eastern bight of Cork Harbour and probably marks the point at which seafarers-possibly arriving direct from the continent-disembarked to trade with the established settlers of the district, or to found bridge-heads for subsequent marauding incursions into the rich terrain of the interior. That the latter was a possibility forseen by the early agriculturalists of east Cork is shown by their careful selection of a strategic site. The builders, who were members of a peaceful farming community (as is shown by the presence of agricultural implements on the site), placed their outpost so that it dominated the main pass which gave access to their territory from the south and the sea-the direction from which they believed their enemies were most likely to come.