2006:2102 - Slaney Place, Enniscorthy, Wexford

Monitoring of groundworks was undertaken by Catherine McLoughlin at this site in 2005 (Excavations 2005, No. 1636); nothing of archaeological significance was uncovered.
In 2006 a small terraced area above and to the rear of the site of the monitoring was tested. The terraced area is adjacent to Enniscorthy Castle. Four trenches were excavated within the footprint of proposed construction impact in the lower of two garden terraces. Bedrock was uncovered at the northern and southern limits of the area excavated. A quarry face appears to have been uncovered at the northern end of Trench 3. The evidence suggests that a quarry pit occupies much of the area excavated. The quarry pit is largely filled with an extensive deposit of metallic quarry waste. Fragments of 16th–17th-century pottery recovered from above the furnace waste suggest an early post-medieval date for the quarry waste. The large quantity of furnace waste suggests extensive industrial activity. The apparent dating of this activity suggests that the quarry pit and the furnace waste are associated with Sir Henry Wallop’s extensive rebuild of Enniscorthy Castle in 1587.