2008:738 - Ladywell Street, Thomastown, Kilkenny

A second phase of testing was undertaken in February 2008 on behalf of the Office of Public Works at Ladywell Street, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, in advance of the proposed construction of the decentralised Health and Safety Authority offices. The site was located on the edge of Thomastown (KK028–040), in two fields immediately west of Ladywell Street.
A first phase of testing was undertaken in June 2007 by Grace Fegan and comprised the excavation of eight test-trenches, which revealed a wide and deep right-angled ditch and a number of further linear features interpreted as cultivation furrows (Excavations 2007, No. 1025). Subsequent to the first phase of testing, a geophysical survey of the proposed development area was undertaken by Earthsound under licence 07R236 which confirmed the presence of the previously identified features and identified a number of further possible features.
The second phase of testing comprised a further 21 trenches, which were designed to test a previously uninvestigated western extension to the site, as well as investigating the extents of the previously identified features and possible features identified in the geophysical survey.
The agricultural features of probable post-medieval date that were found in initial testing were confirmed to exist on a larger scale throughout the site. The previously identified large ditches were also confirmed to continue both south and west of the development site, and appear to be boundary ditches. Further finds of medieval pottery support a medieval date for the ditches.
Two newly identified ring-ditches were also encountered. The first of these (F11) was fully exposed and found to have an internal diameter of c. 3m. The ditch measured 0.7m in maximum width and 0.33m in maximum depth and was filled with reddish-brown silty sand. A short distance to the north of the ring-ditch lay a deposit (F23) of unknown depth and in excess of 3.5m wide, which comprised soft mid-blackish-grey clayey silt that contained charcoal and burnt bone.
The geophysical survey suggested the presence of a large circular feature, which was investigated with two trenches. These revealed the feature to be a second shallow ring-ditch (F17) which measured a minimum diameter of 16m.
In addition to further examples of cultivation activity, two isolated and undated pits were found within the site.
Finds were mostly recovered from topsoil and included both medieval and post-medieval pottery sherds, a possible stone punch, five whetstones and possible whetstones, a farthing of James I and a large fragment of a possibly modern school bell (from the adjacent school?). Several sherds of medieval pottery as well as two of the whetstones were recovered from the larger boundary ditches.
Plans for development at the site as part of the government’s decentralisation programme were shelved and the site remains unexcavated at time of writing.