2022:384 - Spafield, Green, Wallers Lot, Spafield, Owens & Biggs Lot, Cashel, Tipperary

The client, Tipperary County Council, undertook remedial, upgrading and surface works at the Green and Old Road Cashel, Co. Tipperary (townlands of Green, Waller’s-Lot, Spafield, Owen’s and Bigg’s-Lot). The upgrading works entailed excavation and installation of drains on the Green and electricity ducting and light stands on the Old Road. As this work was situated in zones of archaeological potential associated with southern extent of Cashel’s medieval town (TS061-025) and the Old Road being of some antiquity (TS061-071001), a licence was applied for to archaeologically monitor the ground works.
The location of the works extended from Irish Trans Metric 607715 638804 at north to 607844 640366 at south. The initial phase of ground works and archaeological monitoring commenced on 23 August and occurred a phased basis until completion on 24 November 2021. An extension to the licence was obtained for the 2022 phase of the works, which took place between 19 January and 3 November.
This involved footpath replacement on the Green and entailed removal of existing concrete path surface and excavation to depth of up to 0.25m for the path and 0.3m for the kerbing. Paths including kerbs were between 1.8m and 2.2m in width. Box trench excavation occurred to reset the kerbing and in line with where it was previously situated. In all instances either the underlying bedding of stone chips was exposed, or at shallower deposits of modern materials, the underlying natural subsoil was exposed. Nothing of archaeological of historical nature was revealed. Drainage trench excavation also took place at the Green. This typically ran along the edge of the path on the road side and across the road at key locations to connect through between existing drainage ducts. Box trench excavation was for the most part up to 0.4m in depth and 0.3m in width. Where new sections of drainage duct were installed, the stratigraphy consisted of 0.1m to 0.2m tarmac onto 0.15m to 0.2m of stone chip bedding onto natural subsoil that varied from orange silty sand to yellow silty clay with decayed and undecayed limestone.
No archaeology was encountered during the works and the next phase of the works is set to occur in early 2023.

Dunburbeg, Clonmel Road, Cashel, Co. Tipperary