1996:376 - NENAGH: Pearse Street/Abbey Street, Tipperary

Archaeological test excavation was undertaken in advance of a proposed commercial development at Pearse Street/Abbey Street, Nenagh, in June 1996. The site is located within the zone of archaeological potential as defined in the Urban Archaeological Survey. The ruins of the thirteenth-century Franciscan friary stand just 50m east of the site. The site measures approx. 70m north-south by 20m east-west.

A large corrugated warehouse and a concrete shed were demolished prior to testing. Four trial-trenches were then mechanically excavated along the lines of the proposed foundation trenches. The natural yellowish-brown subsoil was encountered between 0.8m (north-east) and 1.7m below the existing ground level. There was evidence that the site had been levelled in modern times, and this inevitably led to the disturbance of the stratigraphy on the higher ground at the north-east. There was also considerable stratigraphic disturbance associated with nineteenth/twentieth-century developments at the site. Many of the excavated wall foundations correspond with walls and buildings which are shown on the first edition of the OS 6" map for Tipperary. There was also evidence of more recent site developments (petrol tank and concrete pits) associated with a garage which was in use here until about 1950.

The undisturbed stratigraphy was consistent across the site. The concrete and tarmacadam surfaces overlay modern rubble overburden which varied from 0.3m to 0.7m in thickness. Underlying the rubble were a series of silty clay deposits averaging 1m in thickness. The upper layers were light to dark greyish-brown in colour with moderate inclusions of flecks of charcoal, mortar and brick and occasional roots, animal bone and slate. The lower layers were grey and light yellowish-brown in colour and contained occasional roots and flecks of charcoal. These deposits directly overlay the yellowish-brown subsoil.

At the north end of the site there were traces of two linear features, cutinto the subsoil and aligned north-east/southwest and east-west. One of these was rested. It was 0.4m deep and narrowed from 0.75m wide at the top to 0.6m at the base. The fill consisted of a light greyish-brown clay with moderate inclusions of stone, slate, animal bone, oyster shell, iron slag, mortar and flecks of charcoal. No datable finds were recovered.

20–21 Main St., Portlaoise, Co. Laois