County: Kilkenny Site name: JERPOINT ABBEY, JERPOINT
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 28:62(05) Licence number: 04E1512 EXT.
Author: Patrick J. H. Neary, 24 Talbot’s Inch Village, Freshford Road, Kilkenny.
Site type: Medieval Cistercian abbey
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 656953m, N 639476m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.503698, -7.161118
Excavation of the chapter house in advance of the installation of an underfloor heating system revealed evidence of human burials, including females and children. These were in the north-west quadrant of the room.
The presence of considerable quantities of iron slag suggests that the chapter house was used as a metal workshop at some stage in its history, but further analysis may clarify whether this took place during a reconstruction phase or at the start of the post-dissolution phase.
In the post-dissolution phase and following the metalworking phase, two small chambers were created at the north-east and south-east corners of the room, utilising the windows that were extant in the east wall.
Burials were also discovered in the trenches for services and drainage that were excavated as part of the development.
