1991:123 - WATERFORD: Manor Street, Waterford

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Waterford Site name: WATERFORD: Manor Street

Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number:

Author: Andrew Halpin, Archaeological Development Services Ltd

Site type: Excavation- miscellaneous

Period/Dating: Multi-period

ITM: E 660395m, N 612312m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.259196, -7.115321

In July 1991 Archaeological Development Services Ltd. carried our an archaeological site assessment on behalf of Mr Seamus Moran at Manor St., Waterford.

The site is of archaeological significance principally by virtue of its proximity to the Benedictine Priory of St John the Evangelist (founded in the late 12th century). The east wall of the 13th-century priory church immediately adjoins the site on the south-east and it is likely that at least part of the site formed part of the priory precinct. The priory church continued in use as a parish church into the 17th century at least.

Construction work had already commenced before the archaeological site assessment could take place. Foundation trenches and pits for foundation pads had been dug and much of the site had apparently been stripped of its overburden with undisturbed boulder clay exposed in many places. All that was possible, under the circumstances, was to examine the section faces of the exposed trenches and pits.

The results of the assessment indicate an absence of archaeological deposits which is somewhat surprising in view of the location of the site. The only probably archaeological features were two shallow V-sectioned cuts in boulder clay noted in a foundation trench in the north-west part of the site, filled with dark silt containing well preserved animal bone, charcoal flecking, a sherd of probably local 13th-/14th-century pottery. All other features appear to be of relatively modern date (i.e. 18th-century or later). It is possible that archaeological stratigraphy has been removed from the site during the present or previous construction work. Clearly much of the site has been levelled and cleared and it is interesting to note that the only likely archaeological deposits were in the extreme north-west corner of the site, the only area where clearance has not taken place. On the other hand the lack of archaeological deposits may be due to the site's having formed part of the precinct of St John's Priory and thus been undeveloped until after the suppression of the Priory.

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