What is recorded here

Ken Hanley cut ten trenches inside the Kilmallock town wall in early 1999, exposing medieval pits, furrows and property ditches beneath a thin garden-soil skin. The layers suggested ordinary domestic life, with clay imported to raise the ground and a crude wall marking a boundary rather than a grand hall. Future houses would have stood directly upon those forgotten divisions, turning medieval neighbourhood lines into modern footpaths.

Testing was carried out by Ken Hanley under licence No. 99E0056 before a private housing development to the south of Shears Street, Kilmallock, Co. Limerick. The site, which measured 67-110m long x 27-48m wide, lay inside the town wall. A proposed estate road would link onto Sarsfield Street, c. 12.5m to the south of King's Castle. Ten test-trenches were inserted, Trenches 1-8 in the main field site and Trenches 9 and 10 along the proposed estate road. The work was carried out on 30-1 January 1999 and 6-7 February 1999. Overall, the ten test-trenches revealed a substantial amount of archaeological activity. There were clear stratigraphic similarities between all of the trenches. In general, sod and topsoil cover thickened from east to west across the site. Below this was a widespread, mid-grey/brown, silty clay, which appeared to form a stratified 'garden soil' horizon. This occurred at various depths, ranging from 86.17m OD (Trench 2) to 87.88m OD (Trench 7). Finds from this layer suggest a medieval origin, with some modern (probably agricultural) disturbances. This general layer sealed a substantial quantity of cut features, consisting mostly of pits and plough furrows. Pottery retrieved from some of these features pointed to a medieval date. Field ditches were also identified running through Trenches 2-5 and 9. These lined up with existing property divisions leading from the main street and would appear to have represented medieval property or garden allotments. Several furrow cuts and pits pre-dated the field ditches, suggesting a medieval subdivision of earlier holdings. There was no evidence of any substantial structural activity, apart from an occasional stake- or post-hole and a crude wall in Trench 3. A solitary foundation wall was uncovered in Trench 10. Trench 1 produced tentative evidence to suggest that a large quantity of clay was introduced to raise the ground level inside the town wall. Based on these findings, further archaeological monitoring and excavation were recommended before the development' (www.excavations.ie).

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