2012:404 - St John’s Hospital, Limerick, Limerick

Test trenching was undertaken in advance of the construction of a surface car park, attenuation tank and relocation of services within the grounds of St John’s Hospital. The site comprised a grassed lawn area, with gravel and concrete footpaths, located within the zone of archaeological potential for the historic town of Limerick and within the immediate area of the supposed line of the 17th-century fortifications. Both LI005-017082 (Battery) and LI005-017089 (Bastioned Fort) are located within the footprint of St John’s Hospital but away from the proposed development. Five trenches, measuring between 5.5m and 27m in length, were excavated across the footprint of the development with the excavated soil from each test trench examined for archaeological material; this was carried out under licence 12R87 with a Minelab XTERRA 70 metal detector. The test trenching was restricted by a number of service pipes and by the loose nature of the stratigraphy with several trenches partially collapsing during the course of the project.
In general, a significant depth of 19th- and 20th-century infill was exposed across the site with the natural parent material not definitively identified. Only within two trenches was undisturbed material recorded. In these locations a clay layer was found to overlay a humic silt and though no conclusive date for either context was forthcoming, it is clear that these predate significant development of the site and indicate the possibility of archaeological material existing at greater depths. Only in one trench was archaeological material identified. Here two fragments of a North Devon ware dish were recovered from material collapsed in from the trench wall.
No evidence of the 17th-century defences was discovered during the programme of test trenching. A review of the historical mapping of the area suggests that these may not have extended significantly into the site boundaries. However, given the depth of the modern deposits on site, it is possible that the remains of the 17th-century defences may have been greatly impacted on or are present at a greater depth then what was achievable during the test trenching.

ÆGIS Archaeology Limited, 32 Nicholas St, King’s Island, Limerick