2013:151 - THURLES: O’Donovan Rossa Street, Tipperary

Two test trenches were positioned on the imprint of a proposed three-classroom extension at the CBS Secondary School, O’Donovan Rossa Street, Thurles. The area of the extension is c. 50m to the north of the projected line of the medieval town wall and on the northern edge of the archaeological zone for Thurles town. The new classrooms were located in the eastern part of the site, close to the site boundary.  At the time of testing, the area was covered with a tarred surface and used as a sports grounds/play area. It was enclosed by existing school buildings and a block-built boundary wall. The site was raised from the surrounding ground surface by c. 1.2m.

Testing works revealed the area of the extension was dominated by modern infill, probably from the time of previous building works at the school. The use of a draft foundation ensured it was not necessary to excavate below this modern infill.