2014:048 - CORK: 1 Albert Quay, Cork

The development site is located on the western part of Albert Quay, on the south bank of the south channel of the River Lee and is to the east of the city centre.

The site was previously occupied by two 19th-century coal warehouses and lies adjacent to the east side of the former site of a 19th-century railway station (CO074-119001).

Previous to this the site was undeveloped marshland subject to tidal flooding until the construction of the Navigation Wall and extensive land reclamation works during the 18th century.

Monitoring of the bulk excavation of sub-surface deposits to a depth of over 5m below existing ground level took place between October and December 2014. At the north end of the site the uppermost made ground under the warehouse floors comprised of lenses of concrete slab, rubble, coarse gravels and other residues that comprised a band measuring 1.2m in thickness. This overlay a dark grey clay which contained occasional 19th-century inclusions. The dark grey clay overlay a sterile mid grey clay layer which contained frequent inclusions of reed stalks and appeared to be the buried remains of the riverside marsh which made up the site prior to its reclamation. It measured 2.5m thick at the north end of the site and overlay glacial gravels which were encountered at 4.7m beneath existing ground level in this area.

The dark grey clay has been interpreted as a reclamation deposit of dredged riverine material which was deposited to an increasing depth on top of the natural reed marsh surface as it sloped gradually down towards the river’s edge to the north, thereby removing the natural gradient. The reclamation clay was relatively homogenous in composition with no obvious silt lens and this indicated that it was introduced in a single operation undertaken over a relatively short period of time. The presence of occasional 19th-century inclusions noted in the reclamation material supports the cartographic sources which indicate that the area was still occupied by a riverside marsh at the beginning of that century.

The stratigraphic sequence as the excavation extended to the south (landward) edge of the site indicated that the original terrain rose gradually upward from the river’s edge. The thickness of the uppermost reclamation deposits gradually decreased as the underlying reed marsh layer and glacial gravels slope upwards to the south. The glacial gravels were encountered at a depth of 3-3.5m beneath modern ground level at the southern site boundary.

There were no traces of cultural inclusions noted in the underlying reed marsh layer. The ground works were monitored into the natural glacial gravels and nothing of archaeological significance was encountered.