2007:1637 - Morton Street, Clonmel, Tipperary

Testing was undertaken at Morton Street, Clonmel, as part of a housing scheme. The site, located on the north side of Morton Street, is to the north of the northern circuit of the medieval town wall, which extends behind the rear of the properties fronting the south side of Morton Street.
A number of walls and three ditches were found in the course of opening four test-trenches. Documentary research revealed this site has been utilised since at least the early years of the 19th century, when it is known Morton Street was the centre of the brewing industry within the town. None of the walls discovered during testing are associated with this period, with a probable construction date of around the turn of the 20th century. This is based on the mortar composition, which has all the attributes and components of a relatively late Portland cement; in addition to the sparse pottery and glass sherds found. The thick deposits of buried topsoil in the northern portions of this site also suggests small, well-cultivated gardens associated with these buildings. It is therefore considered likely that evidence of the earlier buildings has been completely removed by the later developments.
The east–west-aligned ditches were far more enigmatic. Extending across the southern part of the site, they are manifest as an abutted ditch in Trench 4 and parallel ditches in Trench 2. Furthermore, neither their dimensions nor fills are similar, although they share a similar projected line. Due to the consistent working of the upper stratigraphy on the site, in conjunction with relatively modern foundation cutting and infilling, the only remaining physical evidence of these ditches is what remains cut into the natural ground. Whereas the wall in Trench 1 proved negative regarding dating evidence, two ditches produced pottery of early post-medieval date, with a single sherd of late medieval pottery discovered in the lower part of another fill. Both of these ditches are on the exterior side – and parallel to – the projected line of the town wall but, based on their dimensions, neither can possibly be classed as having a defensive function associated with the mid-17th-century siege of Clonmel. It could be argued the steep sides and narrowness of the linear ditch reflected the attributes of an ‘ankle-breaker’ trench, if its top was disguised, but not in conjunction with the other linear ditch and considering the shallowness of the double ditch uncovered further to the east at the southern end of Trench 4. Another interpretation is that it was originally a single drainage ditch, with the other linear ditch a later recut, although the lack of silts within any of the fills would be a major stumbling block. Therefore at this stage the only interpretation offered as to their function is that they are part of late medieval/early post-medieval agricultural practices.