County: Kerry Site name: TRALEE: 17–2- Castle Street Lower
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 03E0815
Author: Niamh O’Callaghan, for Eachtra Archaeological Projects
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 483760m, N 614385m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.268861, -9.703125
Test-trenches were excavated before construction of commercial and residential units at the rear of the Church of St John the Baptist in Lower Castle Street, Tralee. The presbytery, a listed building, was not part of this phase of works. The church was constructed in a Gothic revival style between 1854 and 1870.
Trench 1, in the garden, was 16m long, 1.6m wide and 0.65–0.8m deep; no archaeological layers or artefacts were recorded. Trench 2 extended in an east–west direction from the southern end of Trench 1 and was 12m long, 1.6m wide and 0.12–1.1m deep. The upper layer was composed of 30mm of tarmacadam overlying 0.2–0.3m of hardcore. The most notable feature in this trench was a layer of sandstone cobbles. They were generally mediumsized rounded sandstones averaging 0.14m long by 60–80mm wide and were aligned east–west. The cobbles extended beyond the limits of the trench to the east, north and south and are thought to be part of an enclosed, paved yard. There was no major wear pattern on the stones; however, four drains were recorded within their 6.5m exposed length. Trench 3 was located further west, within a modern yard. It was 10m long, 1.2m wide and 1.2m deep. No archaeological layers or artefacts were recovered.
3 Canal Place, Tralee, Co. Kerry
