County: Wexford Site name: WEXFORD TOWN Oyster Lane
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Mr. P. Wallace, Irish Antiquities Division, National Museum of Ireland.
Site type: Historic town
Period/Dating: Medieval (AD 400-AD 1600)
ITM: E 705023m, N 621565m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.335636, -6.458908
This site became available for excavation in Spring 1974 when medieval potsherds were found during foundation digging. The area excavated was relatively small, the main object of the exercise being to explore the potential which Medieval (and possibly earlier) Wexford may hold for future excavation.
The excavation revealed three fairly distinct occupation phases. The uppermost or post-medieval level featured a thick stone-wall, tentatively ascribed to the 17th century. A number of potsherds including some of medieval date were recovered in the lower courses of the wall. Unglazed pottery appeared to be twice as common as glazed in this layer.
The second level revealed floor (?) boards and accompanying joists and a well preserved stone drain under the boards. An ‘L’-shaped series of twenty-one posts was recovered at the S.W. of the site in a brown gravel lens which appeared to mark the bottom of this layer. Over 900 potsherds were recovered from this most prolific level. These included local and imported wares, there being twice as many glazed as unglazed sherds. S.W. French jugs and a mortar French Polychrome, Rouen (?) red-painted as well as Bristol, Gloucester and Scarborough wares were represented among the imported wares. A bronze stick pin and numerous fragments of leather including belts, buttoned garments and a highly ornate bronze studded leather (harness?) object on a wooden backing were recovered.
The lower layer consisted of densely compacted habitation refuse including animal, bird and fish bones and oyster shells, as well as hay, straw, hazelnuts and various seeds/kernels and insect pupae. Finds included bronze pins, a wooden needle, leather fragments, a piece of worked antler as well as pottery. Included among the pottery were examples of Bristol and flint-tempered Wiltshire ware as well as sherds of local origin. This level also featured a very well preserved post and wattle fence (II posts) which was later used as a guide-line by the builders of the stone-drain. It was a feature of the site that all structural features had the same orientation and this varied about 400 from the present line of Oyster Lane.
The lowermost level was marked by a fine grey-sand deposit at the bottom through which water infiltrated making further systematic exploration impossible though rapid test-trenches showed that this sand layer was natural thereby ruling out the chance of finding pre-Norman remains in this site.
