1989:064 - LIMERICK: Curry Lane/Gratten Street, Abbey C Ward, Limerick

The excavation was situated some distance to the east of Broad Street, which was, in medieval times, the most densely populated stretch of Irishtown. The area had fallen into dereliction over the years, but part of it was to be revitalised with the installation of a large warehouse complex. Archaeological work was necessary because the last remaining medieval building in Irishtown stood on the edge of the redevelopment zone, and because trial holes revealed the presence of extensive deposits of black soil of uncertain nature and date. The excavation was funded by Limerick Corporation and lasted four weeks.

Unstratified modern rubble up to 1.8m in depth was removed by mechanical excavator, and the surface of the black garden soil exposed. A cutting measuring 17m (north-south) by 12m (east-west) was defined. However, excavation had to be prematurely discontinued owing to flooding caused by old water pipes.

During the limited period of manual excavation some post-medieval features were revealed. These included a barrel pit, an unlined pit backfilled with mortar and stones, a spread of oxidised clay and ash, and a wattle fence 3.25m in length. There were four small stone-lined pits, one of which had a flagged floor. These had been backfilled with rubble and were probably post-1700 in date.

To conclude the excavation of this trench, the east side was dug out to subsoil by mechanical excavator, and the west-facing section recorded. Two stone-built property boundaries, 5.5m apart and aligned east-west, were visible in section; it was found that the thick body of black garden soil associated with these contained pottery sherds almost exclusively post-medieval in date.

A second trench was established a short distance southeast of the first, along the north side of Gratten Street. It measured 12.5m (north-south) by 5m (east-west). The upper stratum of modern rubble, up to 1.5m in depth, was removed by mechanical excavator.

The problems with inflowing underground water encountered in the first trench were equally bad in this case. Again, a strip was machine-dug to subsoil to reveal the west-facing section; a record of this substituted for proper excavation. The section contained one east-west property boundary and two pits, one of which was quite substantial. The pits cut through a thin layer of grey silty clay, stratified directly over the subsoil. This layer produced two sherds of 13th-14th-century date, and was the only securely medieval context encountered in the course of the excavation.

To conclude, the overall impression is that while the dwellings in medieval Irishtown were concentrated in the main about Broad Street itself, the surroundings further east towards the town walls were relatively open and probably under cultivation. This picture agrees with the image of Irishtown conveyed by the early maps, 1590, Hardiman Collection, T.C.D., and Speed's map of 1610.

Planning Dept., Limerick Corporation, Limerick