2022:710 - CORK: 92–96 North Main Street, Cork

Archaeological excavation of parts of three plots was completed at 92-96 North Main Street, Cork, within the historic walled town. The remains of 12 buildings were revealed across two of the three trenches in plots 93, 94 and 95.

The earliest activity on the site related to reclamation; clay was deposited on the site in an effort to raise it above flood levels. Reclamation deposits were more substantial on the northern lower-lying part of the site. The earliest structural remains were two stake-built structures at the southern end of the street front, in plot 93, followed by two wattle houses overlying them. Based on ceramic evidence this activity dated to the late 12th century. This activity was followed by construction of four sill-beam houses, across the three plots. One was behind the street-fronting house in plot 94. The sill-beam houses were later replaced by three street-fronting houses with stone footing which presumably supported sill beams, none of which survived. This activity dated to the 13th century based on ceramic evidence. Eight stone platforms with associated burning interpreted as open-air ovens, two (bread) oven structures and a key-hole shaped kiln were found behind the street-fronting houses.

The twelfth house found in Trench 2 was set back approximately 30m west of the street front and straddled plots 94 and 95. It was a large stone-built house measuring approximately 15m north-south by 9m externally. In contrast to the other houses identified its long axis was oriented north-south. The walls survived to a maximum height of 0.8m and were constructed mainly of limestone and bonded with lime mortar. They were over a metre thick in places and the outer face had a batter of around 25 degrees. The eastern wall was not exposed but a blocked door ope was identified in the western wall as well as a garderobe chute which emptied into a drain running under the clay floor of the house.

No medieval deposits or features were identified in Trench 3 at the west of the site. Post-medieval features extended across the upper levels of the three trenches.