2003:2044 - WEXFORD: White's Hotel, George's Street Lower, Wexford

Testing of two areas of the White's Hotel complex undertaken by Cathy Sheehan in July 2002 (Excavations 2002, No. 1930, 02E1074) uncovered medieval deposits in the Abbey Street carpark area and in a laneway running from the hotel to the Cornmarket.

The excavation of five trenches, in areas separate to those previously excavated by Ms Sheehan, was undertaken in November 2003. The excavation, through areas of proposed construction impact in the area of an existing function room and an open yard to its south and east, uncovered no structures of archaeological significance. The excavation has, however, revealed a depth of stratigraphy that exceeds, in places, 3.8m below existing ground level.

The stratigraphy appears to remain relatively constant across the area tested, consisting of, in turn, modern floor levels, post-medieval rubble deposits, deep garden soils of two distinct phases (post-medieval overlying medieval) and, where reached, particularly humic deposits containing varying levels of medieval inclusions overlying possible natural geology.

In December 2003, overburden removal in the Abbey Street carpark area of the hotel complex commenced in advance of open-plan excavation of the deposits identified by Ms Sheehan. This excavation and further testing of the site will continue in 2004.