County: Wexford Site name: NEW ROSS: The Quay
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 29–13 Licence number: 01E0006
Author: Maurice F. Hurley
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 671801m, N 627664m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.395799, -6.944983
It was proposed to build a visitor centre on the Quay at New Ross, Co. Wexford, alongside the berth of the ship The Dunbrody. The planning permission required that testing of the proposed development site be carried out in advance of any site preparation and construction work.
Testing was undertaken in January 2001. The quay was laid out in c. 1850. Prior to that the area subject to testing was part of the River Barrow. The lower fill of stony yellow clay was probably deliberately deposited behind the newly built quay wall. Layers of coal slack may have been derived from ballast as this length of quay is locally referred to as ‘Ballast Quay’.
A single sherd of 19th-century chinaware was recovered from one of the layers of yellow clay. No material of archaeological significance was recovered. As the proposed foundations and associated services did not exceed 1m in depth below the modern surface, there was no likelihood of impact on material of potential archaeological importance.
312 Bruach na Laoi, Union Quay, Cork
