County: Tipperary Site name: CASHEL: Friar Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 95E0286
Author: Edmond O'Donovan, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Historic town
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 607548m, N 640247m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.513550, -7.888788
An excavation was carried out on the eastern side of Friar Street within the medieval town of Cashel, from 16 January to 26 February 1998. Friar Street led from Main Street through the Friars Gate to Clonmel and Fethard. A Franciscan friary (founded in 1265) stood adjacent to and outside the Friars Gate.
Cutting 1, the principal area excavated, measured 11.5m north-south by 8.5m. It was adjacent to the street front in the north-western corner of the site, between two large, concrete building foundations, 1m wide, that removed any archaeological deposits along the eastern and western baulk. Cuttings 2–4 were to the east and south of Cutting 1 and were opened to assess the survival of archaeological deposits across the remainder of the site.
The excavation identified two main phases of archaeological activity. The first dated to the medieval period and was subdivided into four separate sub-phases, where evidence of the layout of Friar Street, house construction, domestic occupation and property plot realignment was revealed. The second phase of activity dated to the post-medieval period; this again was subdivided into four separate sub-phases of occupation.
A range of stratified archaeological artefacts and ecofacts was recovered during the excavation, including medieval pottery, a bone gaming piece, a lead spindle whorl, faunal remains, macro fossil plant remains, seeds, pulses and coleoptera.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
