2004:1829 - WEXFORD, Wexford

Monitoring of the insertion of the Serpent Broadband network was undertaken in the first half of 2004. Works began at Redmond Square and the quays and progressed southwards, encompassing North Main Street, South Main Street, St Peter’s Square, Peter Street, Anne Street, Common Quay Street, Oyster Lane, Cornmarket, Rowe Street Lower and Mallin Street.

In general, avoidance and preservation of archaeological deposits was the main aim of this project. With the aim of preserving archaeological deposits, the excavation of the broadband network within the historic core of the town followed the routes of old gas and water mains and the route of the main drainage. Deposits of archaeological material were uncovered at a number of locations, mainly located along North and South Main Street. The deposits uncovered largely confirmed or mirrored the results of the main drainage programme and mostly consisted of street surfaces and, in North Main Street, what appeared to be a seashore revetment.

South Main Street
A paved surface was uncovered opposite 116 South Main Street. It was uncovered for a length of 3m and spanned the width of the trench. It appeared to overlie sands and gravels. To the south of the paved surface, which had been truncated by modern services, was a metalled surface. This compact surface extended south for a length of 7.45m before being truncated by services. No artefacts were found in association with the paved or metalled surfaces. However, given the location of the surfaces in the existing street, it is likely that they are the remains of a previous street surface. Although it is not possible to date the surfaces, their depth of 0.65m below the existing street level indicates a medieval date.

A similar paved surface, although this one was constructed of flagged stones rather than cobbles, was located opposite 34–36 North Main Street, adjacent to the Bullring. The surface was uncovered at a depth of 0.55m below the existing street surface and extended for a length of 4.25m. It is likely that it was also the remains of a previous street surface.

North Main Street
The deposits identified on North Main Street consisted of several structural elements. A possible wall consisting of a 3m length of roughly coursed stone bonded with brown clay was uncovered at a depth of 0.45m below the existing ground level outside the Ulster Bank. This possible wall was resting directly on a layer of dark-brown peaty material that contained the preserved remains of two wooden stakes set 0.34m apart. A single sherd of pottery was recovered from the bonding clay of the wall. Unfortunately the sherd does not provide an absolute construction date for the section of wall. It appears to be a locally produced pottery that may date from any time after the year 1200 into the early post-medieval period.

A series of three timber uprights were uncovered 3.6m to the south of the southern extent of the wall remnant, set into black silty clay. Directly behind these posts were two horizontal posts with lengths of c. 3.5m. No diagnostic artefacts were uncovered associated with the timbers.

These two sets of structural features were uncovered only 3.6m apart on the western side of North Main Street, c. 1.3m from the present street frontage. The wall may form a revetment against the sea. This interpretation is strengthened by the presence of the timber revetment slightly to the south. Taken together, and including the distance between them, these features form a revetment of over 10m in length and appear to suggest that tidal inundation in this part of Wexford once extended as far inland as the western side of North Main Street. Although this would at first seem unlikely, recent excavations at the adjacent White’s Hotel site appear to support the theory.

Other features
Several other features and deposits were also encountered throughout the broadband monitoring. Common to both North and South Main Street were intermittent deposits of black clayey silt with inclusions of animal bone, oyster shell and, occasionally, sherds of medieval Leinster cooking ware. These deposits were uncovered at various locations beneath modern road fill at depths of 0.55–0.75m below the present ground level. The presence of the pottery sherds dates the deposits to the 13th century.

A series of deposits were situated in close proximity to each other on North Main Street and in the Bullring. These deposits, which may have been pits, varied from grey sandy material to black silty clay. Two contained medieval pottery dating to the 13th and 14th centuries.