A recent discovery of Beaker pottery at Barnahely, Co. Cork.

In 2023 the author conducted archaeological monitoring in advance of development in the townland of Barnahely, between Carrigaline and Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork. A total of 21 earth-cut pits and post-holes were discovered. Among them was a pit containing 168 sherds of Beaker pottery, which will be the subject of this short report. The pottery represented the fragmentary remains of at least nine vessels, including a foot from a polypod bowl. A radiocarbon date of 2457-2203 cal. BC places the remains firmly in the Chalcolithic period. Large assemblages of Beaker pottery are rarely uncovered in Ireland, making the Barnahely site an important discovery, revealing a new Chalcolithic site in the Cork Harbour area with a likely connection to groups who introduced copper metallurgy into Ireland at the end of the Neolithic. The context of the discovery at Barnahely will be discussed in relation to other Chalcolithic sites in Ireland, with a particular focus on Cork, where Beaker pottery and other domestic material is often found in small pit groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]