Metalworking site in Townparks (galway By., St. Nicholas Par.)

The following summary has been derived from Delany (2004, 164-78) to which the reader is referred for a fuller account. Archaeological excavations undertaken at the Custom House during the period 1997-9 uncovered significant medieval structural remains including those of a high medieval hall (GA094-100041-), the eastern corner of the 13th-century castle (GA094-100069-), a limekiln (GA094-100070- ) and a smelting works (GA094-100071-) that operated in the late and post-medieval periods. A very large quantity of artefacts (11,553) and environmental material was also recovered. The excavations were confined to two separate areas of the site. The eastern area, bordering on Druid Lane, comprised the hall, smelting works and an adjoining laneway; the area to the west was in a 19th-century warehouse building where the remains of the castle and kiln were uncovered. The interior of the hall (GA094-100041-) was used an area for iron smelting in the late and post-medieval periods and two main phases of activity were distinguished. The first phase was represented by four pits, over 50 stake-holes and seven narrow holes or voids, the function of which could not be determined. All of these features were cut into medieval gravel deposits. At the base of one of these pits was an extremely compact deposit of iron slag indicating its use as a furnace pit, and it is assumed that the other two pits had a similar function. They may have been used as part of a smelting process whereby wrought iron was produced on a small scale directly from iron ore. The fourth, larger pit had been partially destroyed during the construction of the foundations of an adjacent business premises. There were large concentrations of stake-holes in the area south-west of the central stone column of the hall and immediately inside the southern door but these did not form any readily identifiable structures. They may have supported small, temporary structures such as worktops or canopies. The second phase of activity was represented by a greater variety of features. These included pits, stake-holes, narrow holes, a collapsed stone structure, wooden objects, traces of clay-and-stone floors and small ironworking features and surfaces. The most notable discovery was a large cruciform anvil base situated in the northern part of the hall. All of these features were cut into accumulated industrial deposits and clearly represented an expansion of iron smelting on the site. Some stones showed evidence of staining which in conjunction with the iron filings discovered in the fill between them suggests that molten iron may have been hammered into shape on them. A collapsed stone structure may have been the remains of a furnace. The anvil was represented by regular cruciform-shaped depressions. The head and arms were of roughly equal dimensions (L 0.9m; Wth 0.55m), but the shaft was longer, at 1.75m and open the bottom: these would have held substantial timber beams on which the anvil was fixed. Occasional clay-pipe stem fragments in the upper levels of the smelting works suggest that the operation may have continued into the early 17th century. However, these finds may have been intrusive, and the general absence of clay pipe and glass suggested to the excavator that the smelting works are more likely to be a 16th-century feature. Compiled by: Paul Walsh Date of upload: 5 February 2018