2003:0306 - MALLOW: Mart Street, Cork

Four test-trenches were excavated prior to the construction of an apartment and retail complex on the site of the former farmers’ mart in the area to the north of the medieval core of Mallow town (SMR 33:93). The development site has been in use as the town market area since the early 19th century and the cartographic and historic sources for Mallow suggest that the town did not expand into this area until the post-medieval period. The present mart buildings are modern, of concrete construction with corrugated roofs. The stratigraphy in all the trenches consisted of a 0.2m-deep modern yard surface of gravel and limestone rubble. This directly overlay the yellow boulder clay and areas of exposed limestone bedrock. The removal of the 1m-thick concrete floor of the mart building was monitored and this was found to directly overlie the boulder clay. There was no trace of any buried soils below the building or yard and it appeared that the site was cleared of topsoil prior to the construction of the modern mart complex. There were no archaeological features or finds uncovered.

AE House, Monahan Road, Cork