2020:197 - Drumgold, Enniscorthy, Wexford

The Department of Education and Skills is undertaking the construction of new Primary and Secondary Special Needs Schools on a greenfield site at the edge of suburban Enniscorthy. It is situated adjacent to existing Primary Gaelscoil. The site is some 600m from the Windmill, WX020:032, on Vinegar Hill, which also served as the focal point of the Battle of Vinegar Hill during the 1798 Rebellion. Metal detecting work in 2017 identified nearly 600 artefacts associated with the battle in the fields between Vinegar Hill and the site of development. Several years previously a possible battlefield artefact was recovered during the construction of the Gaelscoil.
Archaeological work commenced on 1 November 2018; part of the development entailed advance metal detecting of the site to locate and organise the recovery of any battlefield artefacts, if present. This was followed by archaeological monitoring of the construction-led topsoil stripping.
At time of writing, metal items are awaiting analysis. 15 such items were recovered and retained out of several hundred detected items. The discarded items ranged from modern rubbish, food waste wrapping, fencing debris and construction debris associated with the adjacent school. Some modern farming items were also discarded. On cleaning of the retained items, it was ascertained that 3 of them were building debris, while much of the remainder comprised 19th-century farming debris, such as horseshoe fragments. Of note are a possible 18th-century horseshoe and a brass tunic button. Other items of possible antiquity or association with 1798, and any uncertain items are awaiting further analysis and final identification.
The archaeological monitoring saw much of the 110,000m² site topsoil stripped to the surface of the underlying natural subsoil. No indication of battlefield archaeology or archaeological deposits were encountered.

The final phase of monitoring was scheduled for September 2019. This comprised monitoring of the construction of a perimeter footpath and cycleway along the north side of the site and reinstatement of the townland boundary, as a stone-clad earthen bank, where an entrance to the construction site was made. Monitoring for the footpath took place on 26 November 2019, with the townland boundary reinstatement scheduled for 2020. The east to west-running path was excavated to a depth of 0.3-0.5m, being the surface of the underlying natural subsoil. It was 2.5m in width and 120m in length. No archaeology was encountered during this phase of the works.

The remaining monitoring of the reinstatement of a stone-clad earthen bank, which was opened as a temporary construction site entrance, was scheduled to occur during 2020. However, as a consequence of Covid-19, this has been postponed until 2021.

Cashel, Co. Tipperary