2005:714 - 10–11 ASHE STREET, TRALEE, Kerry

Two small test cuttings were opened at a proposed development site at 10 and 11 Ashe Street, Tralee, Co. Kerry, following the demolition of the 19th-century three-storey houses. The site is within the archaeological medieval zone of Tralee. The demolition of the buildings and subsequent removal of rubble had reduced the ground level by 0.3–0.45m. Due to the unstable nature of the neighbouring building it became necessary to change the location of the test-trenches in the interest of health and safety. Two linear test cuttings were opened by mini track machine and cleaned by hand. These cuttings run in a general east–west orientation and reflect the linear wedge-shaped site.
Trench 1 measured 1.1m wide and was 12.84m long, while Trench 2 measured 1.1m wide by 18.63m in length. The western limits of both cuttings revealed a loose rubble mortary fill and brick, as well as the basal remains of internal and also external walls of the demolished buildings of 10 and 11 Ashe Street. However, in the eastern area of the cuttings, cleaning revealed a coherent black organic layer that extended east–west for c. 3m in Trench 1 and 4m in Trench 2. The archaeology is more or less diagonally disposed across the entirety of the site in a general north–south direction. The black layer is exceedingly rich in organics, particularly roundwood, many of which are barked and clearly pointed. Fragments of two-ply rope, animal bone and shells were also evident. The eastern limits of Trenches 2 and 1 appear to show a varying thickness of the possibly medieval stratum of 0.15–0.3m but this could not be fully established due to ingress of water.