2005:1490 - ABBEYSIDE, DUNGARVAN, Waterford

Planning permission has been applied for to construct 21 houses at Abbeyside, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. Within the proposed area of development is the site of a tower-house (SMR 27:71) and the site lies within the zone of potential for Dungarvan. Testing was carried out at the site by Áine Richardson at a pre-planning stage in 2002 (Excavations 2004, No. 1671). The design of the proposed housing scheme has now been prepared, based on the results of the preliminary testing along with other issues, such as recommendations made by the inspector at a previous Bord Pleanála hearing. However, as the scheme was not designed when the initial excavations took place, the trenches excavated did not relate specifically to the proposed layout of the development. It was therefore necessary to open additional trenches in order to complete an archaeological impact assessment that has been requested by the DoEHLG relating to planning permission sought in 2004. However, new planning permission has been applied for and this archaeological impact assessment, including further test excavation, has been prepared based on the new planning design and under the guidelines issued by DoEHLG for the preparation of the assessment for the previous planning application. The results of both phases of testing are presented together. Three fields were tested.
Field 1 has substantial medieval remains present in its southern part, in Trenches 1–3, 11, 14 and 15, as well as that portion of Trench 5 that intersects with Trench 3 and the south-east part of Trench 8. Some of the evidence may indicate structural remains (e.g. Trench 1 west end, C25), although no foundations, floors, walls, etc., were discovered. The raised area encountered in the west part of Trenches 2, 14 and 15 may be an exception to this, the possibility of some form of bank existing here being noted above. A significant number of undated features of a possibly archaeological nature were encountered in the central and south-eastern parts of Field 1, in Trenches 2, 7 and 8 as well as the east part of Trench 2 and the south end of Trench 5.
Medieval activity in Field 2 is mostly confined to its west and north-west parts. A number of linear features, which appear to be part of a system of ditches, are visible in Trenches 3, 6, 9 and 11, all adjacent to an existing farmyard wall. There is also some limited medieval evidence in the south of the field, in the south parts of Trenches 1 and 2. Undated features were limited in this field. A ditch was picked up in Trenches 5 and 6 at the north, while C7 and C20, the fills of another probable ditch, were uncovered in the extreme south of the field in Trench 1. A pit of modest size was uncovered in Trench 12 in the area of medieval activity at the west, but was not itself dated.
The site of McGrath’s Castle, a tower-house, with historical references from 1618 (Moore 1999, 219) is located in the east of Field 3. Of a large number of features uncovered in this field, only seven could be definitely shown to be medieval during testing. These lie mostly in the south-west corner of the field and mostly appear to be linear ditches. Three were noted in Trench 7 and one each in Trenches 2, 3 and 8. A probable pit of medieval date was also noted in the central part of the field, in Trench 3. However, most of the possible archaeology identified in this field remained undated. This was concentrated in the south-east and central parts of the field and, again, mostly appears to have been in the form of linear cut features. Undated evidence was encountered in Trenches 1–4, 4a, 7 and 8.
Reference
Moore, M. 1999 Archaeological inventory of County Waterford. Dublin.