County: Limerick Site name: KILMALLOCK
Sites and Monuments Record No.: LI047-022001 Licence number: 04E1368
Author: Niamh O'Callaghan, Barrow Archaeological Services
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 561008m, N 627720m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.399617, -8.572961
Pre-development testing was undertaken at a site to the rear of Moynihan's Convenience Store (formerly Spar), Bank Place, Lord Edward Street, Kilmallock. The site is located c. 16m east of part of the remains of the medieval town wall, constructed before the end of the 13th century.
Two trenches were excavated following the demolition of a modern extension. Trench 1 measured 11.5m by 1.3–2.3m by 0.1–0.9m deep and was orientated north-north-east/south-south-west. The remains of a structure built between the 1840s and 1923 were revealed in the trench. The walls were constructed of roughly hewn limestone blocks and bonded with a large quantity of limestone mortar. The mortar was grey/white in colour, sandy in texture and contained white flecks of lime. The first section of the wall extended along the length of the trench for 1.2m; this was 0.46m wide and two courses high. At the northern end there was a return, which extended in an easterly direction. This section of the wall was narrower, at 0.32m wide, and extended beyond the limit of the excavation to the east. A small amount of modern debris was recorded within the area between the two walls and a series of level flagstones c. 0.2m under the current ground surface extended to the east beyond the limit of the test-trench. A second wall was recorded to the west and north of these flagstones; this was similar in construction to Wall 1.
The two walls recorded are separated by a gap of c. 1m and in this space a slightly higher flagstone was recorded. This stone was 0.85m long (north-south), 0.35m wide and 0.1m thick. It is thought to be the threshold stone at the door into the structure.
Trench 1 extended a further 5.5m north of the features described above. No archaeological features or artefacts were recorded in this area and the layers from the upper ground surface are composed of 0.1m of tar macadam, 0.1–0.3m of hardcore and rubble backfill including large stones, waste building materials of red brick, plastic pipes, electricity cable, tape, tiles, metal, wire, etc., and 0.5m of garden soil composed of mid-brown silt with flecks of charcoal and occasional fragments of butchered animal bone. The subsoil was composed of orange clay.
Trench 2 was located 1.5m west of Trench 1 and measured 11m by 1m by 0.5–0.9m. From the current ground surface the layers excavated in the trench were similar to those listed above. No archaeological features or artefacts were recorded.
Following the excavation of the test-trenches it was recommended that this area be monitored and the remainder of the structure recorded. This work is ongoing.
Sandy Lane, Barrow, Ardfert, Co. Kerry
