2019:187 - Cloghabrody, Thomastown, Kilkenny

The test trenching programme was undertaken to facilitate the design phase of a Community Nursing Unit within in a green field site adjacent to St Columba’s Hospital, Cloghabrody, Thomastown. Thomastown Union workhouse, which was constructed in 1854, is located to the north of the proposed development site and an associated enclosed burial ground is located to the south-east. Nine linear test trenches totalling 1100m in length were mechanically excavated across the footprint of a proposed development site. The licensed use of a metal detector was incorporated into the test investigations in order to assist artefact retrieval (19R0095).
There was no archaeological features or artefacts identified in any of the test trenches. The absence of land drains and the general paucity of cultural inclusion within the exposed stratigraphy suggest that this area may have been historically used as grazing lands. In addition, the cultural inclusions in all trenches comprised occasional to moderate early modern material and occasional post-medieval pottery and glass shreds contemporary with the development of the original workhouse. No human remains were encountered in any of the test trenches with linear variations and anomalies in the subsoil, where present, being both manually investigated and sieved by the attending osteoarchaeologist with all proving to be the result of natural processes. Modern refuse pits were present in Trenches 5 and 6 and one area of localised burning was identified in Trench 9 which investigation also showed to be of relatively recent origin.

John Cronin & Associates, Unit 3A Westpoint Trade Centre, Ballincollig, Co. Cork