County: Sligo Site name: SLIGO: Holborn Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 14:065 Licence number: 00E0539
Author: Mary Henry, Mary Henry Archaeological Services Ltd.
Site type: Town
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 569174m, N 836170m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.273404, -8.473274
Pre-construction archaeological testing was undertaken at Holborn Street, Sligo. Holborn Street is located in the northern part of the zone of archaeological potential for Sligo town. The works were carried out in advance of a planning submission by the owner, who intends to construct a three-storey commercial/residential development. It was decided to undertake testing to determine the presence/absence of archaeological remains on the site.
Four test-trenches were opened with the aid of a machine. Deposits were found in the four trenches. In the first trench, opened at the rear of the site, there was a deep, wide cut that truncated the natural deposits. The base of the cut extended to a depth of 1.4m below ground level. It was filled with material that resembled garden soil of modern date (18th–19th century). Included in the fill were broken slate and red brick, fragmented clay pipes and a small quantity of animal bone.
The second trench was sited along the southern part of the site. Modern deposits extended down to the subsoil, 0.72m below ground level. As in the first trench opened, there was a cut truncating the subsoil and filled with deposits of relatively modern date.
The third trench was at the front of the site, fronting Holborn Street. Original ground level in this trench was c. 0.85m below ground level. A series of deposits of varying grey and dark brown hues and of silty sand and sandy gravel composition occurred beneath the overburden. Inclusions were sparse, with no datable finds. It would appear that the front part of the site had been infilled with imported material.
The final trench opened was sited along the northern edge of the site. There was a very sudden and pronounced change in the levels of the natural ground. In the western end of the trench the subsoil occurred 0.7m below ground level, and elsewhere in the trench it occurred 2.35m below ground level. A wide ditch-like feature appeared to have truncated the subsoil. It was filled with several deposits of 18th–19th-century date. The inclusions in the various fills comprised bits of mortar, a band of crushed mortar, isolated bits of red brick, seashell, charcoal and cinders.
Pre-construction testing showed that much infilling of post-medieval date had occurred at the site. No archaeological remains or strata were recovered that could be dated prior to the post-medieval period.
24 Queen Street, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
