1995:261 - THURLES: Black Castle Theatre, Tipperary

An archaeological assessment was carried out on a small development site close to the northern side of the Black Castle, Thurles. The assessment was carried out after planning permission had been granted for a theatre and community arts centre building and in response to a request by the Office of Public Works to the local authority.

The site lies within the 'zone of archaeological potential' as defined by the OPW Urban Archaeological Survey and also lies within the supposed circuit of the medieval town defences. Black Castle, near the site, is a substantial, well-preserved, 15th/16th-century tower house which lies off Liberty Square in the centre of Thurles. The tower house has part of an enclosing bawn wall still surviving. The development is positioned on the north-east side of the tower, less than 5m away from what is thought to represent the eastern bawn wall.

To the north-west of the site, less than 50m from the development area, lies the site of a motte, a late 12th-century earthen castle which had substantial precincts by the 14th century. In addition, documentary sources suggest that Thurles was a walled town in the medieval period. The line of the town wall is thought to have run some distance to the west of the proposed development site, but the location has not been confirmed by archaeological investigation.

The development site measures roughly 23m north-south by 19m east-west and is bordered on all sides by light limestone walls. It lies outside the bawn area and also some 3–5m inside the supposed line of the town wall. The assessment sought to establish:
(i) whether the western boundary wall might coincide with the line of the town wall;
(ii) whether a small semicircular arc in the southern boundary wall of the site, which appeared to be at variance with the general orientation of the surrounding walls, might be associated with the tower house (perhaps forming part of an outer medieval bawn wall);
(iii) whether archaeological deposits exist on the site.
The proximity to the supposed location of the Anglo-Norman motte was also borne in mind.

Prior to the archaeological assessment four trial-holes had been opened for engineering site investigation purposes in the four corners of the site. These indicated that there was a deep deposit of grey/black silt at the southern end of the site and a natural gravel deposit at the northern end. The archaeological testing revealed that:
(i) both the southern and western boundary wall are post-medieval in date; neither are associated with the castle bawn or city wall;
(ii) the semicircular arc in the southern site boundary wall was inserted possibly to facilitate the inward opening of the gate;
(iii) the upper levels of rubble and stones with the remains of the mortar floor are also post-medieval in date, as was a pit in the south-west corner of the site;
(iv) the possible remains of a wall, probably orientated east-west, were badly disturbed at the east of the site (Trench 2, which was positioned parallel to Trench 1, did not pick up the line of a deep masonry foundation recorded in the engineers' site log, indicating that it did not extend as far north as Trench 2);
(v) a deep deposit of dark grey silt with brown organic lenses beneath the upper rubble and stones extended to a depth of 3.7m below the present ground level.

Although the organic silt material excavated was intensively searched for artefactual finds, no pottery or other small items were retrieved. Of note, no animal bone or shell were recovered from this deposit. The silt extended for 13m north of the boundary wall and could represent a ditch or fosse associated with the tower house or the motte. The inclusion of fragments of twigs in the organic fill may suggest that it silted up over time. The natural deposits at the north side of the site are gravels, lying just 1.2m below present ground level. The silt, therefore, could simply represent a portion of an active natural watercourse in this area. No other archaeological layers or features were located.

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