County: Waterford Site name: John Street/Waterside, Waterford
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 06E0150
Author: Damian Shiels and Gillian McCarthy, Headland Archaeology Ltd, Unit 1, IDA Industrial Estate, Wallingstown, Little Island, Co. Cork.
Site type: Medieval/post-medieval
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 660835m, N 612096m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.257211, -7.108906
Excavation was carried out as part of a proposed development adjacent to, and within, the zone of influence of WA009–005, the medieval walled town of Waterford. The site was directly adjacent to John’s Gate, a protected structure (RPS No. 221, section of city wall), and revealed archaeology immediately outside and to the south of the medieval city wall. A series of modern walls were demolished and the levels within the site were reduced. A number of test-pits were excavated in the area of the piles. This uncovered part of the medieval city wall, a possible quay wall, features associated with John’s Gate and a limekiln.
The city wall was uncovered for a distance of 17m in a north-east/south-west orientation to a depth of 0.6m. It ran parallel to John’s River and joined John’s Gate at the south-west. A number of test-pits were located inside the area of John’s Gate. They revealed an amount of post-medieval pottery which lay on a stone floor surface. A possible quay wall was discovered 5.5m outside the city wall. It was located between John’s River and the city wall and ran for a distance of 11m, where it was disturbed at the south-western end by a later limekiln. This limekiln was constructed from three separate stone walls with a brick floor and had a cobbled surface to the north. The majority of the site was covered with the waste material from the limekiln.
The finds assemblage consisted mainly of the post-medieval pottery from within the gatehouse and a large amount of cattle horn cores found in the estuarine silts outside the city wall.
