2006:2133 - Pierce’s Foundry, Distillery Road, Wexford, Wexford

Test excavation as part of a pre-planning assessment was undertaken at the site of Pierce’s Foundry, Distillery Road, Wexford, on 22–25 May 2006. Fourteen trenches were excavated, designed to uncover any pre-foundry activity. The site was outside the zone of archaeological importance of Wexford town, but cartographic evidence showed a 19th-century millpond on the site and the existence of medieval mills in the proximity suggested the need for testing.
The site dipped in a south-westerly direction as it approached the now culverted river running along the northern side of the site. In the low-lying areas subsoil was reached at c. 1.2m, a dark-grey estuarine deposit. In the higher areas subsoil was reached at a depth of 0.5–1m. Nothing of archaeological significance was found. A number of 19th- and 20th-century walls clearly visible on OS maps were unearthed.