The first weekend in February I traveled around the West Cork with my Irish Archaeology class. It was a great experience to get to travel around County Cork, as I had only spent time in the city up to that point. First of all County Cork is beautifully diverse, traveling all around gives you a little taste of several environments ranging from bustling city to quiet countryside.
The first visit required the most imagination, as it was an archaeological site that didn't have many visible remains. It was a ringfort of a well-off farmer or an elitist which was typical during the Early Medieval period in Ireland. All that had remained was a large circular patch of lush green grass along with two deep circular trench-like ditches surrounding that area.
Here's an idea of the spacing of the trenches of Garranges Ring Fort
Our next stop was Ballinacarriga Tower House. They were a simplistic castle type built in the 15th century, which is notably less elaborate than previous Irish castles in the 13th century. Why? The Anglo-Normans! Castles transitioned to purely defensive structures in the 1600s. Windows were smaller and high from the ground, while the steps of staircases varied in heights to trip invaders. These staircases were indeed, my one true enemy.
Ballinacarriga Tower House and the stairs of DEATH.
Our third stop was a fortified house structure from the 1600s called Coppinger's Castle. These were typical of the time where there wasn't much use for defensive structures, as the time of warfare was sparse. We weren't allowed to get too close or go inside this structure, as it was severely unstable. Yet, it was quite grand to be able to see a structure from the past 500 years.
Coppinger's Castle and me looking at cows.
My favorite of all of these locations was the Drombeg Stone Circle. It is absolutely beautiful and picturesque. I actually wrote a case study for this class analyzing its possible meanings, as it is surrounded with mystery. Many believe stone circles were places of gathering for a variety of possible purposes. There was other subsites within the site including a well and a cooking area. It is extremely rare to see stone circles in the southern part of Ireland, as they typically litter the north and parts of England and Scotland.
Drombeg Stone Circle
Drombeg Cooking Site
Drombeg Well within Cooking Site
The amazing coastal view from Drombeg!
While finishing our journey, we traveled to the Rock of Cashel, a large heritage site in Ireland. It's famous for it being the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St. Patrick in the 5th Century. Yet, few buildings on this site remain from the 5th century, many ranging from the 12th to 13th centuries. This site sits atop a large hill for defensive purposes, yet remains expensive and fills one with a sensation of the sublime upon viewing.
The Rock of Cashel!
Inside and the view from the outside, including St. Patrick's cross.
