County: Antrim Site name: CARRICKFERGUS: 1–3 Joymount
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Cia McConway, ADS Ltd
Site type: Town defences
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 741321m, N 887493m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.715637, -5.806561
Monitoring was carried out at 1–3 Joymount, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim. Cartographic evidence and excavations at the adjacent Ulster Bank suggested that the late 16th-century town wall would continue across the eastern end of the site. As anticipated, the town wall was uncovered during the excavation of the three main east-west ground-beams.
As investigated, the wall was constructed of stone and mortar, running at a slight angle north-north-west/south-south-east along the eastern edge of the site. The wall was up to 1.85m wide and consisted of heavily mortared basalt blocks of random-course construction. The facing-stones had been very roughly dressed, whereas the core was composed of undressed stone blocks. After recording, the wall was covered with several layers of a durable blue polyfoam and then with a thin layer of fine gravel. It was confirmed with the engineer that the town wall would not be bearing any of the load of the new development.
To the east of the wall, underlying post-medieval rubble, was natural beach sand, while to the west was some evidence of the robbing-out of the wall, with large, mortared basalt blocks strewn among the rubble.
To facilitate the piling rig, a mechanical excavator dug a small hole for each beam to soft ground. The piling rig cannot pile through stone, and, as the foundations closely followed the footprint of the original building, the incidence of hitting a stone wall was very high. Monitoring of these holes ensured that disturbance from ground level was kept to a minimum. Nothing of archaeological significance was noted in these holes—the soft ground encountered in the middle of the site, a potentially significant archaeological deposit, contained red brick fragments and late post-medieval pottery. The piles along the easternmost north-south wall cut through layers of natural sand below the post-medieval rubble build-up.
All other groundworks to facilitate drainage, gas and electricity ran tight against the cut ground-beams, within the upper rubble infill. Nothing of archaeological significance was noted during this work.
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