1998:352 - KILKENNY: 10–13 Kieran Street, Kilkenny

A four-part archaeological assessment was carried out at 10–13 Kieran Street, Kilkenny, before the proposed extension and development of the existing Dunnes Stores. The assessment involved a building survey of the existing houses; test-trenching within the house basements and the adjacent carpark; full excavation to the rear of the houses; followed by monitoring of the house demolition, the piling process and the digging of the ground-beam and service trenches. The project was carried out between 23 March and 2 October 1998.

A full internal and external inspection of the houses was carried out. None of the structures incorporated any surviving medieval fabric or features, although two reused cut and chamfered stones were noted in the basement wall of No. 12. Two more reused cut stones were observed in the yard wall separating Nos 11 and 12, while others were noted lying loose in the yard of No. 11. This suggested that there may have been an earlier structure on the site, with some of the stones being reused in the construction of the later houses. Examination of the houses also indicated that No. 11 was the earliest of the four.

Test-pits were dug in the basements of Nos 10–12. Nos 10 and 11 produced no evidence of medieval activity. In No. 12 a wall was observed, running in a north-east/south-west direction along the section face of the pit and under the present foundations of the house. This was post-medieval in date but was sitting on a number of clay deposits, three of which contained medieval pottery sherds. A test-trench was also dug in the carpark of Dunnes Stores. This produced no pure medieval layers, although an Elizabethan coin and occasional medieval sherds of pottery turned up in a disturbed context.

Open excavation was carried out to the rear of the houses. The site was dug to a predetermined level of 43.37m OD, designed to create a buffer zone between the archaeology and the formation level of the new structure. Consequently, it was not dug to a uniform archaeological level, or to undisturbed subsoil levels.

Post-medieval activity was noted across the site. This consisted of a large working surface of clay and cobbles. Two walls of a stone structure were noted on this surface. Two culverts and a continuation of the wall noted during test-trenching were also picked up, running beneath the houses. Two wells were also uncovered-these too were post-medieval in date.

Medieval activity was noted in the south-west of the site, closest to the houses. This consisted of dumps of clay and organic material, containing sherds of medieval pottery. Two pits were uncovered in the far south of the site, and a well and associated stone structure (possibly a trough or overflow feature) were partially uncovered in the west of the site. These features were not bottomed but clearly continued below the 43.37m OD level.

Monitoring uncovered further archaeological features of significance. The piling process suggested that the medieval deposits continued up to 1m below the excavated depth of 43.37m OD, based on the material brought up by the piling auger. Digging of the ground-beam trenches produced evidence of the original doorway for No. 11, which was uncovered in section, along with an early relieving arch at basement level. Further evidence of the wall noted during test-trenching and excavation was also found. More of the culverts and part of an earlier boundary wall were also uncovered during the monitoring phase. It was also clear that the construction of the basements of the houses had removed virtually all archaeological layers and features.

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