The M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy Scheme is a new road being built from Cork City to Ringaskiddy port. The new road follows the line of the existing N28, but it is located adjacent to it in greenfield areas. The land is largely undulating, arable pasture-land with industrialised areas on the northern and eastern ends. Several locations, such as Ballinrea and the west of Barnahely, give spectacular views over the peninsula and Cork Harbour.
In 2021 the contract for archaeological services was awarded to Rubicon Archaeology, who were assisted by TVAS Ireland Ltd and overseen by the TII. Work on these large road and rail schemes is a very established process and has four defined stages – testing, pre-excavation, excavation and post-excavation. There is also a programme set well in advance of construction so there is no risk of archaeology delaying the progress of building the road. All the work is done under the strict controls associated with a Ministerial Direction and the National Monument Service.
The StoryMap below reports our finding so far…