1997:304 - KILKENNY CASTLE, The Parade, Kilkenny, Kilkenny

From 1991 to 1993, a series of excavations was carried out by the writer in order to facilitate the restoration of the central wing of the Castle, which is in State Care (Excavations 1991, 29–30; 1992, 39–40; see also Old Kilkenny Review (1993), 1101–17). From February 1995 to February 1998, a second series of excavations was carried out in and around the area of the South Tower so as to facilitate the final phase of the restoration of the Castle, along the Parade Wing.

Work carried out also included a study of the building history of the monument, together with the conservation and restoration work on the pre-19th-century phases of the stone castle. The most recent series of excavations was divided into four areas, Cuttings 13–16.

Work in Cutting 13 involved the excavation of the area beneath the south-east ground-floor room (G36) of the Parade Wing, measuring 5.43m x 4.55m, to a depth of 2.13m. The excavation has shown that the 13th-century curtain-wall of the stone castle, which bounds the south-west side of G36, overlies the ridge of the rampart of an earlier earthwork fortress. This corresponds to the findings of the excavations elsewhere in the Castle, which have shown that the north-west, south-west and south-east curtain-walls overlie this earlier earthen rampart.

The upper part of a linear sallyport, which ran in a north-east to south-west direction beneath the curtain-wall and was 9.85m in length, was revealed. It consisted of two flights of stone steps which descended down into the moat (explored in Cutting 16). Between the two flights of steps was a landing with a round-headed doorway, constructed of dressed sandstone masonry with diagonal tooling. This sallyport can be compared to the one which was excavated in Cuttings 5 and 7 beneath the central wing of the castle (Excavations 1991, 29–30; 1992, 39–40). The excavation of Cutting 13 was completed in February 1996. Since then, conservation work has been carried out to the upper part of the sallyport and adjoining curtain-wall with a plunging arrow-loop.

Cutting 14 was located 2.1m to the north-east of the South Tower. It measured 11.7m in length x 2.9–4.3m in width, and was excavated to 2.2m in depth. The purpose of this cutting was to locate the line of the missing 13th-century south-east curtain-wall of the Castle, which was demolished during the second half of the 18th century. The remains were found just 0.25m beneath the modern ground level. Furthermore, as in the case of Cutting 13, it was constructed over the rampart of the earlier earthwork fortress.

Cutting 15 involved the excavation of the interior of the ground floor of the 13th-century South Tower, up to 2.9m in depth beneath the modern floor level. The work also included the removal of modern internal walls to expose the extent of the original circular chamber, which is 8.4m in diameter. It had a single entrance giving access from the outside via a flight of stone steps. Furthermore, it is surrounded by five embrasures, each for a plunging arrow-loop.

The excavation revealed that the foundation of the northern part of the tower was built into the outward slope of the earthen rampart that was found in Cuttings 13 and 14, while the northern part was constructed down into the ditch of the earlier fortress. The excavation further revealed that the ground-floor chamber originally had a central stone pillar. As the stone building was being constructed, the interior was systematically backfilled with layers of clay and building waste, until the required ground-floor level was reached. This was a trampled clay surface located approximately 0.9m below the modern floor level.

Subsequent to its construction, two rectangular pits, partially stone-lined, were dug through the original floor in the south-west quadrant of the ground-floor chamber. These were backfilled with organic deposits that were rich in finds dating from the late medieval period.

At a later date, the ground-floor level within the tower was raised by 0.8m with redeposited layers of clay. The central stone pillar was then demolished down to this new level. The floor level may have been raised to bring artillery into the tower.

During the second half of the 17th century, the tower was remodelled by the 1st duke of Ormond. A cobbled floor was laid throughout the chamber, which was later subdivided by internal walls. The excavation within the tower was completed in May 1997. Restoration work to the chamber has since been completed, with a view to making it accessible to visitors.

The excavation of Cutting 16 was carried out in two phases, firstly from May to July 1995, and secondly from August 1997 to February 1998. It involved the excavation of an area of the moat on the outside of the south-west curtain-wall of the Castle, adjacent to the South Tower and facing onto the Parade. The cutting measured 16.5m x 9.5m, and was excavated to a depth of 5.5m. The work exposed the extensive base batter beneath the curtain-wall, which descends for over 5.5m down into the moat in the form of a stone cladding, at an angle of 57º. This feature can be compared to the base batter of the north-west curtain-wall that was exposed in Cutting 10, which was excavated in the Rose Garden of the Castle (Excavations 1992, 39–40).

The entrance to the sallyport, the upper part of which was found in Cutting 13, was located midway along the section of base batter that was exposed in Cutting 16. This enabled the excavation of the sallyport to be completed for its entire length. At the bottom of the lower flight of steps, a paved pathway up to 1.26m wide was found, giving access across the bottom of the moat. This feature dates from the early to mid-17th century.

At the bottom of the base batter, about midway between the sallyport and the South Tower, the entrance to an original garderobe chute was unblocked. This feature had been excavated in December 1995 and January 1996. It rose upwards through the base batter, and up through the curtain-wall to a now-destroyed garderobe, access to which appears to have been made from the second floor of the tower.

During the second half of the 17th century, the 1st duke of Ormond blocked up the sallyport and filled in the moat with rubble and layers of redeposited clay, to a depth of about 3m, for the laying out of the first Parade in front of the Castle. During the early 18th century, the 2nd duke raised the ground level of the Parade in Cutting 16 by about 1m, for the construction of the classical gateway which is located about midway along the south-west curtain-wall. In 1863, a lawn was laid over Cutting 16 within the area of an iron railing.

The edge of the cutting along the Parade has now been permanently stabilised to support the re-erection of the above railing. It is planned to carry out conservation work to the sallyport and the exposed section of the base batter of the curtain-wall, with a view to displaying them to the public. This work should be completed during 1998.

A large quantity of finds was recovered (16,200 registered artefacts). The largest concentration came from the moat (Cutting 16), mainly from 17th- to early 18th-century contexts. These included metal artefacts, fragments of clay pipes, bulbous wine bottles, window glass and roof slates. The post-medieval pottery included brown ware, fine ware, gravel-tempered ware, slipwares, stonewares, and tin-glazed earthenwares. In addition, fragments of tin-glazed wall tiles, ceramic ridge tiles, and a large quantity of animal bone were recovered from these contexts. In the South Tower (Cutting 15), a large quantity of finds was recovered from medieval contexts. This included pottery, the bulk of which consisted of local wares.

The Parade, Kilkenny