2008:1302 - Mallin Street, Cornmarket, Wexford, Wexford

Testing took place of an area of proposed development for the National Building Agency on behalf of Wexford County Council as part of the planning application for the development of the Wexford Town Library. The proposed development area is located within the zone of urban archaeological potential (WX037–032) identified as the town of Wexford and is adjacent to the town walls.
Previously, testing of the carpark flanking Mallin Street revealed archaeological features and artefacts relating to various stages of occupation and maintenance of the adjacent medieval town wall. Additionally, a drainage feature was revealed running across the area of proposed development which contained rich deposits of archaeological materials. Three trenches were inserted within the project area. Based on the discoveries made during this excavation it was recommended that the proposed development site be subject to 100% archaeological resolution of all impacted areas or that the area be avoided entirely.
The excavation revealed archaeological features and artefacts relating to various stages of occupation and various activities occurring adjacent to the medieval town wall. A continuous cycle of site clearance and development was identified. Industrial and residential activities were discovered in pockets of the bedrock which offered a safe haven from this site clearance.
Some features investigated included a modern drain, some early modern buildings and early drainage systems. Beneath the excavated features were revealed earlier features, some of which are cut into the underlying bedrock.
The highest concentrations of archaeological material are located between spits of outcropping bedrock upon which the medieval town wall is constructed and is a unique aspect of the excavation. We have identified numerous drainage systems cut into the bedrock, dating from the modern period to much earlier versions, a possible well/water supply, early modern buildings and storage pits. The site has been excavated to the surface of the bedrock, into which the earliest identifiable features are cut.
Many modern finds associated with the later occupations in the area were recovered during the cleaning of the site after the overlying pavement was removed. Some earlier finds (pipe bowls and some other ceramics) have been recovered as well. Some medieval pottery and antler has been recovered from the tops of contexts or in the redeposited material used to fill more modern features. All of these finds will aid in the characterisation and interpretation of the site area and its place in society over the ages.
Some particularly interesting finds recovered from the site include a musket recovered from a pit in the bedrock (c. 1700s). It had to be broken to fit in the pit, so the possibility exists of it being hidden there. A circular millstone c. 1.1m in diameter was discovered in the fill under the previously excavated red-brick roadway. The origin of this is yet to be determined. A copper jug handle was also recovered from the pit that the musket was located in. A musket ball was recovered from beneath a storage pit. An early bone comb was also recovered.