County: Kilkenny Site name: KILKENNY: 19 Vicar Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 19:26 Licence number: 00E0170
Author: Mary Henry, Mary Henry Archaeological Services Ltd.
Site type: House - 16th century
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 650357m, N 656429m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.656713, -7.255679
Pre-construction testing was undertaken at No. 19 Vicar Street, Kilkenny, where planning permission had been obtained to construct a dwelling-house on a site to the rear. Vicar Street is located in the district known as Irishtown in Kilkenny City.
Three test-trenches were opened on the site with the aid of a machine. The trenches were sited on the external foundation walls of the building. The overburden in the trenches ranged in thickness from 0.6m to 0.76m. Archaeological deposits were uncovered beneath the overburden. In addition to the deposits, there were four walls and the remains of a cobbled surface. The walls and surface were of relatively modern date and were associated with outbuildings on the site. The archaeological deposits occurred beneath the walls. For example, in the first trench opened, at a depth of 1.1m, there was a layer of dark grey, coarse sand and silt. It contained flecks of lime mortar. It overlay a layer of yellowish-brown, sandy gravel. It had no inclusions. Beneath this deposit, and extending along the entire trench, there was a very dark grey to black, silty sand intermixed with a high pebble and small stone content. It had an average thickness of 0.22m. A sherd of medieval green-glazed pottery was found in the deposit. Deposits similar in colour and composition occurred beneath the very dark grey, silty sand. These deposits contained charcoal and extended to the base of the trench. Excavations ceased at the 1.7m level.
In the second trench, archaeological deposits occurred at a depth of 0.75m below ground level. They extended to a depth of at least 1.55m below ground level, where testing ceased. A sherd of medieval pottery was found in the dark grey to black, silty sand. This organic deposit also contained charcoal. It occurred within the lower 0.3m of the trench and was overlain by yellowish-brown, sandy clay with inclusions of crushed mortar. Nothing was found in this deposit to assist in dating it. Excavations in the third trench were limited and ceased following the removal of the overburden. It was decided to cease archaeological testing, as further digging would disturb archaeological deposits.
The owner of the site was requested not to use strip foundations because they would result in too much disturbance to archaeological deposits on the site. A raft foundation was selected as the most suitable foundation type, necessitating only the removal of the overburden on the site.
24 Queen Street, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
