2007:898 - DANESFORT (AR079), Kilkenny

This site was located within the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford road scheme along Contract 2, Phase 4, Knocktopher to Powerstown, in the grounds of Danesfort Demesne. The medieval components of the site included an L-shaped stone wall foundation for a small building or room that measured 3.2m by 3m. It was situated 30m east of the existing N10 road in the north-west part of the site. The foundation was made up of a single course of medium-sized limestone blocks. The natural clay in the interior of the building was compact and probably represented a floor surface. A hearth and stake-hole found in the interior of the building looked to be contemporary. Resting on the floor was a demolition fill containing animal bone, charcoal, slag, metal, and medieval pottery (Leinster cooking ware). This in turn was covered by a later fill containing post-medieval pottery.

A medieval well was discovered 4m to the north-east of the building. It was 2.4m in diameter and 3.6m deep. The lowermost fills were made up of sandy clays with iron panning and medium- and large-sized limestone blocks. Near the base was a thin organic lens containing pieces of Leinster cooking ware and animal bone. The middle fills of the well were less organic and contained orange-hued clayey silts. The upper deposit of the well was more organic – a dark-grey to black silty clay – and contained green-glazed medieval pottery. There was no evidence to suggest that the well was stone lined.

At least twelve shallow medieval pits and ten furrows were identified within a 30m by 15m area surrounding the house/well. These features contained Leinster cooking ware and green-glazed sherds and respected the positioning of the structure, which in turn suggests that a medieval house and associated garden was once located here. The full extent of medieval occupation is unknown as the site continues outside of the CPO to the west.

Archaeological evidence contemporary with the occupation of Danesfort House by its founder Sir Patrick Wemyss was discovered in the form of two trade tokens dated to 1653 and 1656, and the finds of frechen stoneware pottery. The later of the tokens was found in redeposited material near the medieval house, while the earlier was found in a shallow pit or tree bole. Stoneware pottery was found in a small pit in an extended area of excavation nearer to the site of Danesfort House. In summary, none of the main structural elements of the site belonged to this period of occupation.

The construction of a building with an adjacent cellar, a limekiln and two brick ovens marked a new phase of occupation in the north-east corner of the site adjacent to the N10. The types of bricks, pottery and metal objects found are of probable 18th/early 19th-century date, which coincides with the residence of Henry Wemyss, grandson of Sir Patrick, at Danesfort. The building comprised a stone floor measuring 3.74m by 3.27m. It was constructed using limestone cobbles with dimensions typically of 0.3m by 0.18m. An associated wall foundation 4.63m long by 0.49m wide by 0.36m high was located to the south of the floor. This wall also functioned partially as the top course of the north wall of a cellar. The cellar measured 5.2m by 3m by 0.75m deep and was made up of up to seven courses of stonework. The foundation course contained the largest and heaviest stones. Entry into the cellar was via three stone step platforms in the south-west corner. The cellar was filled in by demolition material comprising lime and coal elements and blackware pottery, and was later partially covered by the 19th-century curvilinear stone path. Red- and orange-glazed earthenware pottery was found on the cellar floor and between the cobbles of the floor of the main building.

While lime was not used in the construction of the building and cellar, the presence of a small limekiln 15m to the south-west of the house points to further 18th-century occupation. The kiln measured 2.3m long by 2.25m wide and sat within a shallow triangular-shaped pit that was 4.25m long and 3.25m wide. It was made of two lines of stonework that converged upon a lintel, behind which was a back chamber measuring 0.7m by 0.6m by 0.5m deep. Deposits of lime were still present in the chamber. A demolition fill of medium- and large-sized stones covered the entire structure.

Lime from the kiln may have been used in the construction of two brick ovens found 7m to the south and south-east of the building/cellar. The larger of the two ovens was oval-shaped and measured 2.1m by 1.05m by 0.37m deep. It was constructed of limestone, slates and orange bricks with lime mortar. It appears to have been remodelled, as a flue made of reddish bricks blocks up the existing chamber. The second oven was rectangular in shape and measured 1.75m by 0.95m by 0.4m. It had two chambers, one principally lined with stones and the other with brick. These were partially separated by an arch or lintel made of brick, limestone and slates. Both ovens were filled with demolition rubble.

The discovery of a rotary quernstone adjacent to the oval-shaped oven offers clues as to the activities that took place on the site. The quern has a diameter of 0.48m and was set within a shallow pit. Large packing stones on either side of the quern helped to set it in place. Greyish-brown and black silts were recovered from the pit. It is hoped that these will give an indication of the type of grain being processed by the quern. It does appear that baking took place on the site, perhaps to serve the occupants of Danesfort House or to sell bread to travellers using the adjacent main road. The cellar may have been used for grain storage.

The next occupation is represented by a curvilinear stone path that runs parallel to the northern field boundary, curves and then runs parallel to the eastern field boundary/the N10 road. This feature truncates the 18th- to early 19th-century structure and cellar, which were probably demolished and backfilled as part of a relandscaping of this part of Danesfort Demesne. On the first-edition OS map (1830s), the area is clearly shown as parkland with trees. No buildings are shown but the stone path is clearly visible on the map.

120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Wicklow