County: Tipperary Site name: CARRICK-ON-SUIR: North Quay
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 85:4 Licence number: 02E0295
Author: Florence M. Hurley
Site type: Historic town
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 639839m, N 621750m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.345906, -7.415281
The construction of an apartment development on a site just outside the assumed line of the town wall in Carrick-on-Suir was monitored. The site, formerly a builder’s provisions store, is close to the Old Bridge, a Recorded Monument, and monitoring along the quay in front of the premises during the Carrick-on-Suir Main Drainage Scheme, Phase 1, had revealed part of the Bridge Mill. This is documented since the 14th century but is thought to have gone out of use by the start of the 19th century. No trace of this now remains above ground.
As the new building was to be raised above possible flood levels, a piled foundation was used, with the ground-beams placed on the existing ground level. Monitoring of the piling revealed possible archaeological deposits in the centre of the site. These took the form of a charcoal-rich deposit, a yellow/brown sandy silt that contained two small pieces of medieval pottery, and a dark brown silt with frequent charcoal inclusions. All of these appeared to be below a layer of modern rubble and fill and were examined when brought to the surface by the piling auger. Examination of the service trenches did not reveal any archaeological material, as these were above the probable level of the archaeological deposits.
The nature of the foundation employed resulted in there being no impact on the subsurface archaeological deposits.
8 Marina Park, Victoria Road, Cork
