2011:565 - OLD BRIDGE, CLONMEL, Tipperary

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Tipperary Site name: OLD BRIDGE, CLONMEL

Sites and Monuments Record No.: TS083-019002 Licence number: E4252; C456

Author: Dave Bayley

Site type: Medieval and post-medieval bridge

Period/Dating:

ITM: E 620160m, N 622281m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.351391, -7.703312

Ministerial consent was sought to undertake monitoring of the demolition and reconstruction of the parapets on Old Bridge (TS083-019002). These works are associated with the Suir River (Clonmel North and East) Drainage Scheme—Civil Works Contract.

A full architectural survey of the bridge undertaken by Rob Goodbody concluded that the bridge piers and cutwaters on the upstream (western) side are medieval in date and that the parapet walls and cutwaters on the downstream (eastern) side appear to be an 18th-century construction. The bridge has also been fully surveyed by laser scanning as part of this assessment.

A small line of east-west stones was identified at a depth of 1.3m below ground level in an engineering test pit. While their precise function is not known, these are not thought to be structural and owing to the presence of existing services they could not be investigated further.

A line of north-south stones was identified during further test-pitting. These ran parallel to the current river boundary wall and were approximately 0.8m east of it. They appeared to be set in a compact gravelly clay, which differed in texture from other silty clay in the area. It is thought that the stones and clay may have formed a small embankment, marking the line of the channel, or have been the foundation for a river boundary wall. They are not thought to be related to the existing boundary wall but this could not be established. While the precise function is not known, their orientation and proximity to the river suggest that they are related. The stones were not mortared and thus there was no evidence of surviving ‘structural’ remains. The evidence from the test pit suggests that the stones mark the eastern limit of the bank/footing, as the clays to the east were sterile.

Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120b Greenpark Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow