What is recorded here

Excavation 92E0038 revealed medieval pits and two wells beneath the Market Cross Shopping Centre in Kilkenny. John Channing dug the site in 1992 after buildings that had stood there since at least 1800 were demolished. The pits held pottery and one contained cess-like material, while parts of the wells remain preserved below the modern floor. What the site records is ordinary and striking at once: people lived, drank, discarded and were forgotten above ground, yet their water and waste still mark the depth of the town.

An archaeological excavation (92E0038) was carried out by John Channing in 1992 within plot that stretched from High Street to the western stretch of the town wall of the Hightown of Kilkenny (Channing 1992, unpublished; 1993). The plot is shown as wholly occupied by buildings extending N-S from Red Lane to James Street and E-W from High Street to the town wall on John Rocque's 1758 map of Kilkenny. The site was occupied by the Presentation convent school and chapel, James's Street from 1800 until 1992, at which time it was demolished for construction of the present Market Cross Shopping Centre (Bradley 2000, 14). Stone-lined and unlined pits containing medieval pottery were excavated adjacent to James's Street. One of the pits contained cess-like material. Also uncovered were two wells (KK019-026082-; KK019-026095-), portions of which were preserved in situ below the formation level of the present shopping centre. Compiled by: Cóilín Ó Drisceoil Date of upload: 28 March 2022

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