County: Wexford Site name: Barrystown
Sites and Monuments Record No.: WX045-055 Licence number: 18E0411
Author: Mary Henry
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 685032m, N 612095m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.253991, -6.754566
Monitoring of ground works associated with the building of a coastal protection wall was undertaken at Barrystown, Wellington Bridge. Monitoring works were carried out pursuant to planning permission granted by An Bord Pleanála. An archaeological monument classified as a mine is c. 50m to the north-east of the northern terminus of the project. Located c. 300m to the south-east of the works is Barrystown tower-house (WX045-020001), an eighteenth/nineteenth-century house (WX045-020002) and a structure (WX045-020003).
A total of 105m of ground was excavated to accommodate the building of a coastal protection wall. Preparatory works entailed a sod removal/topsoil strip and then excavating a strip foundation trench, ranging between 1.6m and 3.2m and extending to a maximum depth of 3m at its southern end, rising to 1.3m at the northern terminus. Stratigraphy was relatively consistent throughout, comprising mixed/disturbed topsoil overlying a subsoil extending to natural depositions. The presence of an Eircom manhole and associated ducting, 0.6m below ground level, extending parallel to the trench just inside it's east side, after Ch. 60m, resulted in some disturbance.
The east side of the northern 22m of the trench was dominated by an earlier coastal defensive wall, abutting the west side of the road A reasonably well-preserved battered wall, it extended to at least the base of the trench, occurring less than 0.3m below the level of the road. Within its foundation trench a small quantity of late nineteenth/early twentieth-century pottery sherds were found. An examination of both the 1839 and 1925 OS 6 inch maps and the 25 inch series did not denote the wall, but such level of detail may not have been recorded/surveyed. The works avoided the wall, thus making it possible to preserve it in situ.
Nothing was uncovered during the course of the monitoring that could be associated with the archaeological monuments within the vicinity of the works. These works did not impact on the archaeological landscape and no further mitigation measures were required.
17 Staunton Row, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
