County: Cork Site name: CORK: Gould's Sq.
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 93E0069
Author: Jane O'Shaughnessy, Dept. of Archaeology, University College Cork
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 567457m, N 571362m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 51.893469, -8.472813
Trial trenching took place in Gould's Square, off Cove Street, Cork on 3rd May 1993. Gould's Square is located to the south-east of the original medieval walled city, 150m south of the river Lee (South Channel). The ground rises gradually to the south of the site. The aim of the investigation was to establish, prior to development of the square, whether an archaeological horizon survived on the site. The site covered an area of 19m north-south x 16m east-west. In recent years residential houses, which stood on the east and south sides of the square, were removed. The area was partially covered in concrete and served as a car park.
Four trenches were opened with the aid of a mechanical digger. The trenches measured approximately 2m x 2m and were investigated to a depth of between 1.4m-2.3m. The investigation revealed that modern layers of structural rubble directly overlay natural riverine silts and gravels. The natural deposits occur at a depth of between 0.6m-0.9m below present ground level. No archaeological features or artefacts were uncovered. The results suggest that the area was extensively scarped during development in modern times.
