2017:200 - 8-14 Millerd Street/12-13 Francis Street, Cork, Cork

In order to comply with Condition 7(b) of the grant of permission from Cork City Council (Ref no. 16/37142), testing was undertaken at the site of a proposed apartment development at 8-14 Millerd Street/12-13 Francis Street, Cork on 14 December 2017. The layout of the archaeological investigations at the site took the form of three linear test trenches, measuring between 1m and 1.2m in width and totaling 37m in length. The test trenches were excavated within the footprint of the upstanding warehouse structures which currently occupy the site. It was necessary to mechanically cut the existing reinforced concrete floor slab in each trench location prior to its excavation.

Trench 1 (T.1) measured 17m in length and was excavated in an east-north-east to west-south-west orientation within the northern warehouse structure. Trenches 2 and 3 (T.2, T.3) were excavated in a north-north-west to south-south-east orientation within an accessible area of southern warehouse structure. Both trenches were 10m in length and were spaced 8m apart; the presence of the remnants of metal girders encased in reinforced concrete and a concrete-encased service pipe near the centre of both T.2 and T.3 required a 3m long section south of the midpoint of both trenches to remain unexcavated.

Early modern building foundations were revealed within the excavated trenches, primarily within T.1 but also within T.2. The foundations, which were composed of brick, sandstone and limestone, were revealed at depths of between 0.4m and 0.85m below modern surface level (BMSL). Within T.1, at the extreme east-north-eastern end of the trench, a well-built stone drain was also revealed at a depth of 1.13m BMSL. The drain was orientated north-east to south-west, it underlay the layers of demolition debris but truncated an underlying deposit of introduced greyish-brown silty gravel. The side walls of the drain were primarily constructed with mortar-bonded sandstones with lesser amounts of slate evident, while its capstones comprised thin limestone slabs. Its full width was not revealed but within the trench it measured at least 0.9m wide. The dimensions of one of the best-preserved limestone capstones was 0.46m x 0.31m x 40mm. Partial removal of one of the capstones revealed that the drain was silted up, containing a moist, dark grey, clayey silt. Probing of this silt revealed the presence of a probable base stone c. 0.2m below the underside of the capstones. The drain was not removed and remains in situ. The revealed features were constructed within and upon the post-medieval reclamation deposits which consisted of introduced deposits of demolition debris, gravels and clays. These deposits were shown to directly overly a sterile, greenish grey, estuarine clay which was revealed at a depth of between 1.7m and 2.3m below modern surface level (BMSL). Further recording of the surviving subsurface features has been recommended during the construction phase of the project.

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