2004:1638 - THURLES: Slievenamon Road, Tipperary

Testing carried out in July revealed archaeology of a medieval date and excavations were undertaken on 17–21 August 2004. Four trenches corresponding to the footprint of the strip foundations were excavated mechanically to remove the modern overburden of builders' rubble, which was c. 0.6m deep, to expose the subsoil and any subsequent archaeological features and/or materials.

The two trenches located to the north and east contained nothing of archaeological significance. It became clear during monitoring that this area of the site had been disturbed in more recent times and the subsoil scarped out. Fortunately this activity was confined to the northern area of the site and the areas within the south and west trenches appeared undisturbed. The earliest activity defined on the site was that of three narrow linear features or gullies running north-south across the south and west trenches. Two of these gullies were interpreted as burgage plot boundaries, due their distance apart (8m) and the similarity of their fill and morphology: V-shaped in profile with a dark silty fill, very similar to ones uncovered in an earlier excavation in Thurles town by Paul Stevens at the site of what is now the Munster Hotel (Excavations 1999, No. 835, 98E0598). Also, cartographic and documentary evidence shows that this area was comprised of burgage plots running at right angles to the medieval town wall during that period; the route of the medieval town wall corresponds exactly to the southern boundary of the site, running east-west. The third linear feature was U-shaped in profile and contained a very sterile silted fill in contrast to the others and its function is as of yet unknown.

A large pit, 0.7m deep and 5m wide, was located to the north of the west trench; it was probably square in plan but, as only part of it was exposed in the trench, it is impossible to say for sure. Its primary fill was of sub-angular limestone chunks that appeared to have been deliberately dumped; all subsequent fills were sterile silts and the pit was interpreted as a soak pit. This pit and the most western gully were sealed beneath a layer of post-medieval plough furrows that criss-crossed each other, similar again to the excavations at the Munster Hotel. Nothing was recovered from these features to date them conclusively, but the fact that they enclosed the earlier 13th–14th-century remains found during testing and lay beneath post-medieval furrows makes a medieval, possibly 13th–14th-century, date highly likely. An additional test-trench was also required, as a separate planning permission given to build directly beside the route of the medieval town wall was not included in the original remit. This licence was extended to cover it. Nothing of archaeological significance was uncovered; the modern wall/site boundary that currently exists appeared to have removed any evidence of the medieval defences.

17 Staunton Row, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary