County: Cork Site name: CORK: 34–38 Henry Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E1106
Author: Máire Ní Loingsigh, c/o Sheila Lane & Associates,
Site type: Structure
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 566891m, N 572080m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 51.899892, -8.481104
Test-trenching took place at 34–38 Henry Street, Cork, which is within the zone of archaeological potential. The site is c. 100m west of (i.e. outside) the medieval city wall in a marshy area which was reclaimed and developed in the 18th century.
Four trenches were excavated to the depth at which natural material (in this instance estuarine clay) was encountered. Stratigraphy was uniform in the trenches, with loose stones and rubble of 18th/19th-century date predominating beneath a layer of modern material. This 18th/19th-century layer rested on naturally occurring clay at 2.3m. The stony material was probably used to consolidate the marshy ground and make it suitable for the development which occurred in this area from the early 18th century onward. Four walls and a drain recorded during testing appear to be of 18th/19th-century date.
The results of the testing concur with geophysical testing of the site, which encountered made ground to a maximum depth of 4m resting on grey clay with peat bands to a maximum depth of 6m.
Consulting Archaeologists, AE House, Monaghan Road, Cork
