2016:302 - Gerald Griffin Avenue, Blackpool, Cork, Cork

Five test trencehs were mechanically excavated across this former tannery site in September revealing the remains of three large random rubble tanning pits. The site was subsequently excavated in November in advance of a residential development. The remains of six pits were revealed during excavation as well as the foundation of a number of probable associated buildings. Five of the pits formed a row running east-west across the site. These five were of random rubble construction measuring between 1.08 and 1.15m long, 0.7m and 0.85m wide and 1.45m to 1.6m deep, internally. All were backfilled almost cempletely with rubble. The westernmost of the pits had been most recently used as a septic tank and was rendered with cement. The other four were not rendered and a thin layer of lime survived at the base of each. The sixth pit abutted the easternmost pit to the north and was of timber construction. The pit was clay lined and had been heavily distubed. A layer of hardened lime overlay the pit's clay lining. It is significantly longer than the other pits measuring 2.12m long, 0.54m wide and 1.4m deep. Given that the disturbance removed the cental portion of the pit it is possible it removed a dividing wall which separated this into two. 19th-century ceramics and glass were found through the rubble backfill which is likely to have derived from the demolition of the tannery building by the mid-19th century.