2016:784 - Fethard, Tipperary

A programme of monitoring and excavation was undertaken during construction within the walled town of Fethard, Co. Tipperary, prior to and during the laying of sewers, water mains and other groundworks associated with the South Tipperary Water Conservation Project. The investigation within the historic town follows an Impact Assessment report carried out in 2011 by Jo Moran and a programme of testing and monitoring carried out in 2012 by Dave Pollock and Jo Moran of Archaeografix. Works located outside of the confines of the historic town were monitored under Licence No. 15E0083 and results are included below also.

Monitoring and excavation was carried out between February 2015 and August 2016 along Main Street, Watergate Street, Burke Street, Sparagoulea and The Square within the town. Monitoring was also carried out outside the walled town at Abbeyville, Abbey Street, Green Street, Kerry Street, Barrack Street, St. Patrick’s Place, Belbow Lane and Killenaule Road.

The works revealed numerous cobbled surfaces, culverts, pits, wall footings and metalled surfaces; the majority of which appear to date to the post-medieval period. Evidence for post-medieval and modern realignments of the road were noted, as per previous investigations. Multiple layers of cobbling and intervening deposits on Main Street and Kerry Street suggest attempts to steadily raise the level of the town, equalising the difference in the natural topography.

Evidence for in-situ medieval remains included the footing of the town wall adjacent to Madam’s Bridge and on Burke Street. There was no impact on the medieval fabric of the wall as this was preserved in situ when exposed. Cobble surfaces were identified on Abbeyville, and Burke Street abutting the town wall, representing the former medieval road surface. Wall footings identified on Abbeyville appear to represent the late medieval road surface, former buildings, and potentially an early boundary wall for the Augustinian Abbey. Other wall footings appear to relate to former mill buildings constructed in the 18th century.

A large pit or ditch filled with organic material was identified on Barrack Street to the immediate east of the town wall alignment. Given the narrow section exposed, it cannot be ruled out that this may represent an outer defensive ditch, although there is no previous evidence for such a ditch.

Large pits were identified on Burke Street and in The Square which have been interpreted as waste pits. It is considered that these pits were relatively contemporary and pre-date the current width of the paved road, suggesting a pre-18th-century date. Significant scarping identified by Chapel Lane on Main Street has caused significant truncation of the medieval occupation layer. Heavily truncated pits were recorded along Main Street, at the eastern end of the road which runs through the middle of the town. This suggested earlier plots were formerly located in this vicinity fronting a narrower alignment of the Main Street. One notable pit in the centre of the street produced a large quantity of slag indicating a smithy in the vicinity.

The presence of large pits in the centre of Abbey Street and former wall footings indicated that the current road has migrated to align with Burke Street. The features identified in Sparagoulea, a cess pit and linear ditches, suggest that the line of the road to the North Gate once formed the rear plots of houses fronting onto the former Main Street, potentially indicated by the current Chapel Lane.

Former post-medieval road surfaces, gullies and drainage culverts identified on Green Street were cut into bedrock and appear to be contemporary with those features identified on Burke Street and Abbeyville. A single pit containing waste material on Green Street may be an earlier feature although it is not associated with any in-situ burning.

A total of 84 artefacts were recovered from these investigations including 9 sherds of medieval pottery, 35 sherds of post-medieval pottery, 3 fragments of tile, 5 clay pipes, 3 glass artefacts, 3 copper alloy artefacts, 24 iron artefacts and 2 fragments of roofing slate. A total of 7.4kg of metalworking waste was retrieved from pit C122 identified on Main Street South.

Unit G1 Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow