County: Tipperary Site name: KING JOHN'S TOWER, Roscrea Castle, Roscrea
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0044
Author: Alan Hayden, Archaeological Projects Ltd.
Site type: Castle - Anglo-Norman masonry castle
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 613347m, N 689236m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.953746, -7.801363
Excavations were undertaken over an eight-week period behind and inside one of the curtain towers, known as King John's Tower, in Roscrea Castle, in advance of its conservation.
The visible mural tower is D-shaped in plan and is probably of later 13th-century date. In the interior of the basement of the tower an earlier round tower was revealed. It is likely to have been of early 13th-century date, although no contemporary finds were recovered.
An intra-mural passageway, leading down a flight of steps to a well, was discovered and excavated in the north wall of the later curtain tower. It was infilled in the later 17th century, when its entrance was blocked.
The chute of the garderobe on the first floor of the tower was also excavated. It proved to be c. 7.15m deep and was also infilled in the later 17th century.
The area immediately behind the tower was also excavated to varying degrees, and a small part of a heavily truncated and possible early earthen bank was the only medieval feature uncovered. The work was funded by Dúchas The Heritage Service.
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