County: Limerick Site name: KING JOHN'S CASTLE, Limerick
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 93E0082
Author: Kenneth Wiggins
Site type: Castle - Anglo Norman masonry castle
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 557687m, N 657804m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.669760, -8.625590
The Shannon Heritage Ltd/FÁS excavation project at the castle finished at the beginning of February, allowing a lengthy term of post-excavation work on the archaeological data and artefacts to commence in March, with funding provided by Shannon Heritage Ltd.
The excavation of Cutting 3, situated in 'Castle Lane' along the southern side of the castle, was completed when the outer face of the castle ditch was found in the boulder clay at the south-western corner of the cutting. This was the first occasion that a full profile of the ditch was exposed at the castle, a result that could not be achieved during the large-scale archaeological work carried out in 1990/1. The last feature uncovered was at the north-western corner of Cutting 3, in the form of a retaining wall remnant parallel to the standing curtain-wall. This may date from the time when additional masonry was added to the western flank of the bastion, and before the southern curtain was reconstructed in the eighteenth century.
During the rest of the year, no further work was carried out on the great hall in Cutting 2 along the west side of the courtyard, which remained on show to visitors. Late on in the year, the Castle Lane site was prepared for further archaeological investigation, both at its western limit adjacent to the curtain-wall and in the eastern half next to the standing face of the angle bastion. This phase of excavation prior to the redevelopment of the site will continue into the early part of 1997.
13 Aisling Heights, Raheen, Co. Limerick
