1996:195 - NAAS: Moatville, Abbey Street, Kildare

Archaeological assessment of this site was conducted on 10 July 1996 on behalf of Archaeological Development Services Ltd.

Two test-trenches were excavated by machine. These were located along the line of the front and rear wall foundation trenches of the proposed development.

The first trench revealed an accumulation of demolition debris above the natural gravel deposits. The earliest datable pottery evidence from this overburden was early eighteenth-century. The gravel layer sloped gradually from east to west across the length of the trench, recorded between 98.95m and 97.81m OD.

The second trench exhibited a somewhat similar stratigraphy except for its western extent, which revealed a sudden drop in the level of the exposed gravel layer. Brown compacted clay layers recorded at between 96.29m and 96.82m OD revealed sherds of medieval pottery and small fragments of animal bone. These sherds included imported English pottery of late thirteenth/fourteenth-century date. The trench was not excavated below this level.

On the basis of the localised area of in situ archaeological stratigraphy and the site’s location adjacent to the Anglo-Norman motte castle, further archaeological monitoring of all foundation trenches and manholes was recommended.