Souterrain, Dromore, Co. Cork

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Settlement Sites

Souterrain, Dromore, Co. Cork

There is nothing to see at Dromore.

That is, in a sense, the whole point. Somewhere beneath a levelled field in north Cork lies a stone-lined tunnel that has no visible surface trace whatsoever, its entrance having closed over again after a brief accidental exposure. It is the kind of site that exists more as a fact in the archaeological record than as anything a visitor could encounter, which makes it quietly fascinating in its own right.

The tunnel came to light around 1968, not through any planned excavation but as a consequence of the ringfort above it being levelled. A ringfort is a circular enclosure, typically of early medieval date, defined by one or more earthen banks and ditches, and they are among the most common archaeological monument types in Ireland. Beneath and within them, souterrains are sometimes found. A souterrain is an underground stone-lined passage or chamber, usually associated with a nearby settlement and thought to have served for storage or as a place of refuge. At Dromore, the levelling of the ringfort happened to break open the souterrain's entrance, and local accounts describe what was briefly visible: a stone-lined tunnel running beneath the northern half of the enclosure. After that moment of exposure, the feature was apparently closed over again, and it has left no mark on the surface since.

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