1997:285 - NAAS: North and South Main Street, Kildare

Archaeological monitoring of the mechanical excavation of pipe trench cuttings to accommodate a new 1.5m water main and in addition the laying of gas pipes in Main Street (north and south) and adjoining streets in Naas, Co. Kildare, was carried out in the period mid-May to mid-October 1997. The pipe trench was on average 1m wide and 1–1.4m deep. The trench was cut in close proximity to the pre-existing 6-inch, 4-inch and 3-inch water pipes which had been laid in earlier years on both the east and west sides of the streets. As other services, including electricity and telephone cables, sewer pipes and cast-iron gas pipes, the latter laid in the mid-19th century, had also been accommodated underground in these areas, a considerable amount of disturbance of the original stratification had taken place. Despite this fact, a number of features of archaeological and historical significance were encountered.

Lattin's Castle, North Main Street
In the Civil Survey of 1654 one of a number of castles in this street was held by John Lattin. Based on accounts in the Urban Archaeological Survey by H. King et al., Naas-Archaeological and Historical Background (1986), and in An Foras Forbartha Conservation and Amenity Advisory Service. The Medieval Town of Naas, Co. Kildare by P. Healy (1984), it was suggested that its probable location was on the west side of the street in the environs of the present Superquinn shopping centre.

Monitoring of this stretch of the street pipe trench, which was mechanically excavated to a depth of 1.4m below the road surface, led to the discovery of the foundations of a stone building or buildings which are probably the remains of Lattin's Castle. The building was approximately 19m wide externally and 13.5m wide internally on the north-south axis; towards the south end of the building the pipe trench had shaved off the inner face of the east wall. Towards the north end of the building there was one cobbled surface. These features may lead to the suggestion that there was an entrance through the east wall of the castle at this point.

The pipe trench in which the wall foundations were located curved slightly from north to south; the wall was 7m east of the street building line at its northern end and 6.4m east of the street building line at its southern end. It is considered by various writers that this may be the castle mentioned by Austin Cooper in 1782: ' ...near the entrance from Dublin stands a small square castle of very ancient appearance'.

North Main Street
A stretch of pipe trench was opened on the eastern side of North Main Street and extending southwards from its junction with John's Lane. At the northern end of the trench, which was 7m west of the present line of buildings, the remains of a stone structure were found 0.9m below the street surface. As work continued southwards, more substantial stone structures were found 0.75m below the surface.

Two humpbacked stone features were found, consisting of a double stone culvert. Some bricks had been used in the construction of the most northerly example; otherwise there was no dating evidence for the construction. A stream flowing westwards from higher ground east of St David's Castle and running under the most northerly building in North Main Street adjacent to St John's Lane would have given rise to the construction of this particular culvert. It was later rendered obsolete by the construction of large culverts, built c. 1900, to carry the waters westwards underground across North Main Street to Mill Lane off the Sallins Road.

In the course of trenching along the western side of North Main Street, to the north of the Town Hall, a portion of a truncated pit was revealed. Part of the western side of the pit had been disturbed and removed at some earlier time in the course of laying other service pipes. The remaining element of the pit was 0.8m east-west, 0.6m north-south and 0.24m deep. It contained dark brown soil, five water-rolled stones varying between 0.1m and 0.15m in thickness, a quantity of animal bones, and sherds of the rim, strap handle and body of a 13th/14th-century wine jug of Dublin manufacture. The rim bears piecrust decoration. Stratification overlying the pit consisted of 0.08m of road surface tarmac and 0.28m of hard-core. The pit had been cut into the underlying boulder clay.

North Main Street
A short 12m stretch at the south-eastern section of North Main Street opposite the Town Hall was found to be largely undisturbed. This was manually excavated. At a depth of 0.36m below street surface there was a stratum some 0.1–0.2m thick of black clay and stones, as well as animal bones, cockle and oyster shells and some red brick fragments. Beneath this layer there was a rough paving of cobble-sized stones above the boulder clay. A portion of the former stone-cobbled street drain close to the footpath to the east was also noted.

South Main Street: the Tholsel
Although the Tholsel of Naas which stood in the Market Square had been mentioned and described on a number of occasions between 1664 and 1681 (T. J. de Burgh, in Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society (1891–5), 326), its exact location has been lost sight of. In the course of the mechanical excavation of the pipe trench in Market Square in an east-west direction, the western face of a stone wall was encountered. A survey of the wall and adjacent structures was carried out.

The wall, running across the trench in a north-south direction, was discovered between 0.31m and 0.5m below the existing road surface. It was formed of stones laid on their natural bed, varying in size from 0.6m x 0.02m to 0.14m x 0.06m and down to pebbles and small pieces of slate. The stones were bedded in lime mortar and there were some large areas of mortar. The wall varied in width from 1.38m to 1.8m. To the east there was a projection of what appeared to be part of a return wall or partition, some 0.26m wide and at right angles to the main wall, projecting c. 0.6m eastwards. The trench excavation on the western side of the wall extended to a depth of 1.8m below road level and that on the eastern side of the wall was 1.06m below road level.

A clearly defined cut, presumably an indication of the insertion of the wall, was noted at the junction of dark brown fill and undisturbed light brown soil to the western side of the trench. There was no indication of a cut to the eastern side and it was noteworthy that the fill to the east consisted of mortar, stones and sandy soil, probably representing the remains of cellars which are recorded as having existed on the site.

To allow for the preservation of the wall in situ, discussions were held with the relevant officials of Naas Urban District Council and the pipe trench was rerouted for this purpose. The wall and adjoining stretch of trench were sheeted in polythene protective covering in advance of backfilling. In an attempt to reroute the pipe trench in a southerly direction it was found that initial mechanical excavation revealed part of a structure of mortar and stone which from its position and angle could be a continuation of the main wall uncovered. This feature was only excavated to a depth of 0.3–0.7m. Having been recorded, it was also sheeted in polythene and backfilled and the pipe trench further rerouted.

Abbey Street
Although human skeletal material had been recorded from the southern end of this street in the neighbourhood of a site lying to the west of the street and identified as the Dominican priory by Martin Reid (Excavations 1995, 47, 95E0042; see also report by Patricia Lynch, Excavations 1996, 53, 96E0011) no additional archaeological material came to light in the course of laying a 100m-long water main in 1997. The only feature of note uncovered in the course of monitoring was part of a wall composed of natural rounded stones and mortar, standing some 0.6m high. Only a short stretch of the wall appeared in the pipe trench about midway along Abbey Street. It ran north, then west for a distance of 2.8m and then ran northwards again.

Canal Street
The pipe trench was cut from the western end of Canal Street to its eastern junction with South Main Street. The trench was dug on the northern side of the street close to the footpath. It followed the route of the 19th-century gas pipeline and, in consequence, many of the strata had already been disturbed. No material of archaeological significance came to light nor was there any evidence of a stone construction which might suggest the route of a suggested town wall or earthen rampart crossing the site from south to north (H. King et al., Urban Archaeological Survey (1986), 358).

In the course of previous monitoring by the writer of a sewer pipe replacement through the central area of the street towards its western end, a stone culvert accommodating a clear water stream had been noted (Excavations 1995, 47, 92E0283). What is presumed to be a continuation of this culvert was noted in the eastern end of Canal Street (alias Basin Street) close to its junction with South Main Street. The culvert was 1.2m below the street surface; it contained a continuous flow of clear water. A separate, larger culvert with side walls of mortared stone and roofed with flagstones was located near the eastern end of Canal Street. It appeared to be empty. There had been considerable disturbance of the ground in this area on previous occasions during installation of other services, including a main sewer, drains, cast-iron water pipes and telephone cables.

Burgage More, Blessington, Co. Wicklow