County: Clare Site name: Ennis Public Realm Regeneration Project B, Clonroad Beg, Ennis
Sites and Monuments Record No.: CL033-082 Licence number: 22E0025
Author: Kate Taylor
Site type: Post-medieval urban
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 533780m, N 677350m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.843012, -8.982967
Archaeological monitoring was undertaken of site investigation works as part of upgrading of two areas of the public realm of Ennis: B1 comprising O’Connell Square, High Street and Bank Place, and B2 comprising Old Barrack Street and Barrack Square as well as O’Connell Street itself. The proposed works include resurfacing; erection of street furniture, street lighting and fountains; tree planting; signage and all ancillary works.
Ten slit trenches were excavated, with no significant archaeological remains revealed. However a cellar and a stone culvert were seen to survive at a relatively shallow level beneath the current ground surface and it was recommended that all groundworks associated with the Public Realm works be subject to licensed archaeological monitoring.
A portion of a backfilled cellar was encountered in a slit trench at the top of High Street. The cellar is on the northern side of the road adjacent to the current building that occupies the corner of High Street and Bank Place. The south-eastern cellar wall survives at a depth of just 0.35m below the current pavement and is of limestone construction, plastered on its internal face. The cellar is filled with mixed silt and rubble.
Several slit trenches along the length of O’Connell Street revealed the remains of a large stone culvert that appears to have extended along the entire length of the street, broadly on its eastern side. In most places where it was revealed, the culvert only survives in part, having been truncated by later service pipes, in particular the large sewer that also follows the road. In the best preserved location, the culvert could be seen to be two parallel stone walls 0.76m apart, each faced on the inside. The walls are of limestone with lime mortar and are laid in rough horizontal courses. The base of the culvert was not exposed but the deepest recorded location shows that it is over 0.58m deep. The top of the culvert walls were recorded at depths of 0.18-0.6m beneath the modern road surface, being shallower at the northern (uphill) end of the road. The culvert is undated but presumably relates to 18th- or 19th- century town improvements.
TVAS (Ireland) Ltd, Ahish, Ballinruan, Crusheen, Co. Clare
