1980-84:0082 - GREENCASTLE, Down

Excavation was undertaken in the area of the SE corner tower. While no trace of this building survived above the ground level, conservation work and the need for a safety barrier provided the opportunity and requirement for excavation. This area had been partially examined in 1951 and revealed only a short length of surviving masonry, now known to be part of the internal wall face.
The tower foundations had been removed at least once, perhaps in the 16th to 17th centuries, the rocky promentary on which it stood also having been reduced by quarrying. The projecting outer wall, which was either semi-circular or three-quarters round, had also been completely removed, save for lengths of base batter down the promontory slope and straight lengths of inner polygonal wall face, though the latter only comprised a few mortared stones. The back of the tower could be traced by the edges of a mortar floor, rubber trenches and substantial pieces of surviving masonry, particularly in the N. The junctions with the S and E curtain walls could also be discerned, suggesting that the back of the tower was probably angular with a door in the N and the W wall perhaps forming the gable of a building constructed against the tower. Inside, a carefully laid cobble floor was located within a series of stratified deposits. The pottery found consisted of coarse hand-made cooking pot and tiny shards of Saintonge ware.
At the edge of the ditch, where it was hoped that the projecting curved wall might be reconstructed, insufficient evidence survived for accurate estimation of the wall-line. On the other hand, where the line of the back of the tower could be reliably traced and masonry survived, reconstruction could not take place without extensive excavation to establish an appropriate ground level.

Lynn, C.J. (1988) ‘Grim fortress or picturesque ruin’, Hamlin, A. & Lynn, C.J. (eds) Pieces of the Past, HMSO.