2008:660 - Main Street, Clane, Kildare

At the request of Paul Arnold Architects, monitoring was carried out at a site located on the eastern side of Main Street, Clane, Co. Kildare. Clane is an historic town of medieval origin; an area of the town is outlined in the Record of Monuments and Places as a zone of archaeological potential (KD014–026). The western half of the development site is occupied by the former convent and national school adjoining St Brigid’s Church, facing on to Main Street. The eastern half of the site, where the greater part of the groundworks took place, was largely landscaped grassland prior to the current development.
The most significant feature exposed was the base of a substantial stone-built cesspit or outdoor toilet. The cesspit was backfilled with modern material and thus assumed to be of recent origin. In addition, a number of fragments of worked wood were recovered within peat deposits exposed atop subsoil in the eastern half of the site. Examination of these fragments by a specialist suggested they were likely to be of relatively recent origin and of limited or no archaeological significance. A stone-lined drain was also exposed.