2002:1812 - WATERFORD: Kill St Lawrence, Waterford

The site was tested, following geophysical and topographical surveys, on behalf of Waterford City Council before the construction of the R708 Waterford Airport Road Realignment. The site consisted of a subcircular enclosure measuring c. 100m east–west by 130m. An infilled fosse, c. 13m wide, defined the enclosure. The presence of a bank was difficult to ascertain, although it may be preserved in hedgerows on the northern and eastern sides. The site lies in pastureland. To the west of the proposed realignment is the church of Kill St Lawrence. The church is in ruins and is surrounded by a subrectangular graveyard. Both are overgrown. A wall was constructed in the later 19th century to enclose the church and graveyard.

A standing stone formerly stood to the south-east of the enclosure, within the proposed realignment.

For the purposes of testing, the site was divided into three fields. One test-trench was excavated in the first field, nine in the second, and one in the third. The first and third fields revealed no evidence of archaeological features or deposits. In the second field a number of features were exposed, as well as evidence of substantial ploughing. The features consisted of an outer enclosure ditch with an internal bank, an inner enclosure ditch, three internal ditches, one external ditch, three linear features, eleven internal pits, three possible hearths, four deposits, around 60 cultivation furrows, four external pits and two external deposits.

There were substantial archaeological remains on the site of the proposed R708 Waterford Airport Road Realignment, all of which appeared to be concentrated in the area around the ruined church and graveyard of Kill St Lawrence. Although the testing revealed no evidence of burials, the likelihood exists that burials are present in the vicinity. The main features revealed in the testing were the two enclosure ditches, also identified in the topographical and geophysical surveys. The outer enclosure ditch was a maximum of 6m wide and 1.38m deep. Its associated internal bank was c. 1m wide and 0.4m high. The extrapolated diameter of the external ditch is c. 110m, and it would therefore enclose an area of c. 9500m2. The inner ditch was c. 8m inside the external ditch; it was a maximum of c. 2m wide and 0.85m deep. There was no indication of a bank in the test-trench, although the topographical survey suggested that there might be an internal bank. The extrapolated diameter of the inner ditch is c. 60m, which would enclose an area of 2800m2.

These enclosures seem to pre-date the graveyard, as the inner ditch certainly runs underneath it. It is difficult to determine the nature of these enclosures from the testing, and they may enclose an earlier ecclesiastical site or possibly a secular settlement site. The extrapolated diameter of the ditches would be consistent with other Early Christian enclosures or indeed with prehistoric settlement enclosures. However, the lack of finds from the testing makes it impossible to determine the date of the site at this stage, although the presence of slag indicates that some of the features must be later than Iron Age. The presence in the test-trenches of possible hearths, pits and post-holes indicates that they may represent settlement in the enclosures. This is supported by the results of the geophysical survey in areas outside the road-take. Though disturbed by ploughing, the archaeological remains do not appear to have been badly damaged.

Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth