1998:354 - KILKENNY: New Building Lane, Kilkenny

Two test-trenches were opened on the site in February 1998 in advance of development to fulfil planning conditions. Both an archaeological assessment and an architectural survey of buildings on the site were carried out in 1997 by Edmund O'Donovan (Excavations 1997, 101–2, 97E0028) and Malachy Conway (Excavations 1997, 102, 97E0166).

The test-trenches were dug in areas that were still occupied by buildings during the previous assessments. Each trench was 1.2m wide and ran inside the line of the buildings parallel to New Building Lane. Trench 1, the more easterly of the two, was on the line of a car service pit, and therefore much of the underlying stratigraphy was disturbed. The trench contained loose fill, which yielded a fragment of 19th-century glass, to a depth of 1.3m, at which point natural gravel was reached. The foundation of the eastern wall of Building 3 (recorded by O'Donovan) was dug into the level of the loose fill. Trench 2 contained a layer of cobbling to a depth of 0.22m. Below this was brown, sandy soil with mortar, stones and bone fragments to a depth of 1.2m. No evidence of walls or late medieval structures or layers was noted.

1 Charlemont Heights, Coach Hill, Rochestown, Cork