County: Tipperary Site name: General Thomas F. Burke Street, Fethard
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 07E0419
Author: Maurice F. Hurley, 6 Clarence Court, St Luke’s Cork.
Site type: Urban; no archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 620600m, N 635548m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.470977, -7.696789
Testing was undertaken prior to a proposed redevelopment in an area to the rear of the street frontage. It was proposed to construct four new houses, one at the street front and three on the raised back-garden area. The proposed development is located outside the medieval walled town of Fethard; however, the site is within the zone of archaeological potential (TS070–040). General Thomas Burke Street (formerly Moor Street) was a medieval thoroughfare leading from East Gate to the Augustinian friary and beyond to Mullinahone and Kilkenny.
There were no standing buildings of any archaeological significance on or near the site. A single-storey lean-to stable is of modern date. The nearest historic building is the town wall, c. 30m west at the nearest point and diverging to c. 80m west. The site is separated from the town wall by the adjoining property.
Four trenches were excavated with the aid of a machine. Three test-trenches on the upper terrace were located on the footprint of the proposed house units 1–3 and one on the lower ground near the street, where a single unit is proposed.
The terrain of the site fell into two areas, the lower level (backyard) where the modern surface overlies clay subsoil and the upper terrace (back garden) where in part c. 0.8m of garden soil overlies natural subsoil and extensive areas of modern disturbance (late 20th century) occurred. A single clay-pipe stem and two pieces of 17th-century pottery were incorporated in the modern garden soil.
No finds or features of archaeological significance were identified in the course of the testing.
