County: Sligo Site name: SLIGO: 14 Stephen Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0012
Author: Eoin Halpin, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Town
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 569183m, N 836080m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.272597, -8.473126
Two long trenches and a test-pit were machine-excavated as part of the assessment of this site. The northern trench and test-pit were investigated within the upstanding remains, owing to structural problems that may have arisen had the buildings been demolished before testing. The southern trench was excavated in the yard to the rear.
Results showed that the floors and associated hard-core of the buildings rested, at the northern end, directly on grey, natural till. About two-thirds of the way back the level at which the till appeared dropped and was overlain by a dark grey/brown, organic soil. This deposit was noted as a continuous feature to the southern end of the development area. It contained glass, fragments of clay pipe, red brick and pot, all of which suggested a post-medieval date, probably in the late 18th or early 19th century. This soil appears to be the remains of gardens that once existed to the rear of Stephen Street. Nothing else of archaeological significance was uncovered during the testing.
Unit 48, Westlink Enterprise Centre, 30–50 Distillery Street, Belfast BT12 5BJ
