1992:022 - CORK: 81-83 Grand Parade, Cork

From 27th July to 9th August 1992 an archaeological excavation was undertaken along the line of the city wall at 81-83 Grand Parade, Cork city. The work was necessitated by the development of the site and was funded by the developer.

The site was located on the North Island, at the northern end of the stretch of city wall between King's Castle and Hopewell Castle. A trench 16.95m north-south x 7.15m east- west was opened at the western side of the area proposed for development where the city wall was believed to run (Hurley pers. comm.).

The excavation uncovered 13m of the original 13th-century City Wall surviving to a maximum height of 1.35m. Above this the wall had been rebuilt probably sometime in the late 17th or early 18th century. This later wall was built of well-coursed limestone ashlar. A similar wall was uncovered at right-angles to this later city wall. This extended east for 5.45m to a chamfered corner 0.8m wide and then returned north-south. Only the face of this wall was exposed making its function difficult to determine.

All of the late 16th and early 17th century maps show a mural rower on this stretch of the city wall and the perpendicular wall may have formed part of such a tower.

Parts of the Cork city wall however, particularly in its later life, may have functioned as quay wall (Hurley pers. comm.) and this wall may have been a boat tie-up or a dock.

The excavated material consisted largely of river silt deposited against the outside of the wall and therefore finds were scarce. They included one 13th- to early 14th-century Saintonge Sgraffito spout (McCutcheon pers. comm.) recovered against the medieval city wall and a 17th-century harp tuning peg from unstratified material.

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