1993:210 - CLONMEL: Old Quay, Tipperary

A trial excavation was carried out at a site fronting the Old Quay, Clonmel. The site appears to be located immediately inside the medieval town wall (the exact line of the town wall along this part of the quays in unknown).

The investigation revealed extensive archaeological deposits at substantial depths throughout much of the site. An organic spread, which occurred at an average depth of 1.4m below modern ground level, dated to the late-medieval/early post-medieval period. The organic spread was rich in material typical of human occupation in a town. The inclusions of partially rotted twigs, fragments of wood, small pieces of charcoal, economic related plant remains, hazelnut shells, fish bones, sea shells, animal bones, leather and pottery, provides an insight into the nature of human subsistence during the medieval period in Clonmel. The presence of an extensive organic spread suggests that part of the site was used as a dumping ground for human and occupational waste.

However, it is worth bearing in mind the close proximity of the site to the river Suir. It is possible that some of the organic spread may have been washed upstream and dumped along part of the Old Quay. The presence of a small quantity of water-rolled pebbles and small stones in the organic spread is worth noting and may suggest that some of the material was washed upstream. The results from the archaeobotanical assessment of samples of the organic spread confirmed that there were areas under cultivation, areas of grassland and waste ground within the confines of the medieval town.

Overlying the organic spread, particularly along the river front, there were extensive layers and lenses of compact and impervious redeposited clays of varying hues. The deposits were, by and large, archaeologically sterile. On rare occasions small pieces of charcoal and traces of crushed mortar were found in some of the redeposited soils.

All of the redeposited clays occurred beneath the walls that were found on the site. The archaeological finds from the layers overlying the walls indicate that the walls predate the late 16th/early 17th centuries.

Most of the walls were of similar construction. They were built of uncut pieces of sandstone of varying shapes and sizes. The walls were bonded with a very hard and compact mortar. The walls may have been associated with the industrial buildings that once stood on the site.

All of the Old Quay was dominated by mills in the 1700s and 1800s.

34 Queen St., Clonmel