2006:313 - Half Moon Street/Lavitt’s Quay/Paul Street/Paul’s Lane, Cork, Cork

Five test-trenches were excavated at the site of a proposed commercial development in Cork city centre. The stratigraphy on the site consists of layers of gravel, stony clay and rubble (made ground) 1.2–2m thick, over a c. 1.5m-thick layer of estuarine clay. Natural gravel was recorded at 2.8–3.4m below ground level. A number of mortared rubble walls of probable 18th/19th-century date were recorded, the majority in the eastern part of the tested area. Three red-brick walls may be of 19th-century date. The walls appear to correspond to the footprint of the buildings depicted on maps of the site. The west face of a substantial mortared rubble wall was recorded 8m west of Half Moon Street and further investigation will be carried out to clarify whether it has any connection with the 17th-century Walkabout shown on historic maps of Cork.