2013:391 - Sarsfield Street, Kilmallock, Limerick

Monitoring and excavation were conducted during the construction of an extension to Ryan’s SuperValu Supermarket and car park, Kilmallock, Limerick. The car park extension is situated within the townland of Ash Hill and the extension to the supermarket fronts onto Sarsfield Street.

In the proposed car park extension it was necessary to carry out targeted excavations along the line of the proposed service pipes. Prior to the programme of works the car park extension consisted of a relatively undisturbed green field area with deep boundary ditches along the north and east. Much of the southern third of the area had been impacted on, quite significantly in places, by works associated with the development of the Ash Hill housing estate to the south. Away from the modern disturbance the stratigraphy was characterised by a significant depth of topsoil. A number of features were excavated in all of the trenches, the majority of which appeared to be narrow linear features of an agricultural nature. Several sherds of medieval pottery and a single lithic artefact were recovered during the excavations in the car park extension, however none were located within secure contexts. There was no conclusive dating evidence, however several of the features potentially date to sometime within the medieval period.

In the area of the proposed retail extension, the ground level was reduced by hand and in places by mechanical digger, to the required construction levels or to the point at which archaeological material was exposed. Prior to the development, the area consisted of gardens and modern residential extensions to the rear of two properties which fronted onto Sarsfield Street, referred to here as Creggs. All of the modern extensions to the rear of Creggs were removed with the external areas reduced in height by a mini-digger. Inside of Creggs, archaeological works began with the excavation of a small test trench to ascertain the depth of the archaeological layers. The modern flooring was removed by hand and a trench measuring approximately 1-1.6m wide was then excavated, also by hand, around the base of the four walls. The investigations conducted in the area of the retail extension identified the remains of two previously unrecorded medieval structures.

The earliest activity identified was a dark organic layer ubiquitous to urban medieval excavations and clear evidence of occupation. As this was exposed in the base of a small area of disturbance its true relationship with the medieval structures is unclear. Its depth, in relation to the supposed floor levels of these medieval structures, would suggest that this deposit predates the more substantial occupation of the site. The more substantial of the two structures, Structure 1, measured approximately 20m long by 6.5m wide and would have fronted onto the main street. The smaller of the two structures, Structure 2 was located at the rear of the plot and measured 6.7m long x 3.75m wide. A number of other walls were identified along the eastern boundary, all of which appeared to be from more recent activity.

Structure 1 was rectangular with well-made walls that included a series of arches along its sidewalls. The arches appeared to be part of the lower courses of the wall and separate to the foundations. The location of the arches just above the foundations may have been a decorative embellishment to the walls as well as adding to its strength. Where identified, the foundations appeared to be substantial and had the potential to support quite significant walls that may have been several storeys high. A second phase of use of Structure 1 was identified though it was difficult to establish its true footprint. It would seem that the north, south and east walls of the Phase 1 structure were retained, with some slight alterations elsewhere. At this time it would appear that the west wall of Structure 1 was incorporated into a late medieval townhouse known locally as ‘The Mint’. Potentially four features were recorded within the surviving elements of Structure 1. All of these were doorways with two located at the front of the building and two at the rear. It would appear that only the centrally located front door was an original feature with the remaining three from the second phase of use. The arrangement of the doorways at the front of the property was similar to the style seen at Sarsfield's House and the Stone Mansion (both located in Kilmallock) where three doors opened onto the street with the central one the most substantial. Potentially, this may show that the original doorway was used alongside the later one.

The dating and use of Structure 1, Phase 1 and 2, remained elusive. Due to the association with the surrounding extant late medieval structures the latter phase likely dates to the same period occurring sometime around the 16^th century. No direct dating evidence was forthcoming for the initial construction. As it appears to be a substantial stone building it can be suggested that the original construction occurred during a period of prosperity. Potentially, as Kilmallock had become a prosperous market town towards the end of the 13^th century, the initial construction may date to sometime during the late 13^th and 14^th centuries. Structure 1 is considered in all likelihood to have been a merchant’s residence. The ground floor was likely used as a shop and/or for storage. Evidence from the remaining flooring would suggest that two distinct floor types were used. At the front, where the floor would have needed to be both hardwearing and evidence of the prosperity of the merchant, the floor is cobbled, whereas to the rear, where a cheap and functional floor was presumably all that was required, a clay floor was identified. It is common for this type of structure to have the domestic and reception rooms above the commercial and presumably this was the case here. No evidence of a stairway was uncovered and it is possible that the residential areas were accessed from either the interior or from the street.

A laneway was identified extending along the east side of Structure 1. This appeared to have been cut by the foundations of the extant building yet still in use, without any further alteration, during Phase 2. There was evidence that this may have continued to the rear gable of the structure as well as towards Structure 2. This is the only indication that Structure 2 was potentially associated with Phase 1. Structure 2 was impacted on by the post-medieval reuse with the later stratigraphy masking any potential original features. It appeared to be a small two-roomed building though the substantial foundations seen in the side of a culvert suggest that it may have been multi-storeyed.

It would seem therefore that the archaeological investigations uncovered a potential late 13^th/14^th-century merchant’s residence with an associated laneway and outbuilding. The structure appears to have been altered sometime around the 16^th century with the outbuilding potentially still being in use.

Following the identification of the archaeological remains the floor and foundation plan for the retail extension was altered so as to preserve the majority of the archaeological remains in situ. However, in several areas it was necessary to reduce the height of several walls. In most instances the sections were post-medieval, however several small sections of medieval fabric were also removed. In the areas where medieval walls were reduced the fabric consisted primarily of loose core material. The sections of wall were removed by hand with any moulded stone retained and samples of mortar taken. The capstones of a large culvert identified as re-used architectural fragments were retrieved and catalogued along with all the architectural fragments recovered during the project.

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