Graveslab in Gardens (kilkenny City By., St. John's Par.),gardens (kilkenny City By., St. Mary’s Par.)

Thirteen graveslabs were recovered from the River Nore during the archaeological excavations (01E980) carried out in 2001-2003 as part of the River Nore Drainage Scheme (Doyle and O’Meara 2004, 6-20). These were found associated with the late medieval bridge (KK019-026070-), immediately N of the current John’s Bridge (ibid. 7). It is suggested that the graveslabs were deliberately cleared from a graveyard, possibly belonging to either St Mary’s parish church (KK019-026115-) c. 100m to the W or to St John’s Priory (KK019-026068-) c. 200m to the NE, and used as part of the rubble needed to form a protective apron for the piers of the late medieval bridge (ibid. 16-19). The current location of this graveslab fragment is unknown. Fragment of a limestone graveslab (01E0980: 2311), only an irregularly shaped portion (L 0.48m; Wth 0.39m; T 0.1m) of which survives (ibid. 14). It is decorated with an incised cross, though only a length of the shaft remains (ibid.). The shaft below the cross-head expands into a small incised circle (ibid.). Just above this are the partial remains of what appears to be a trefoil terminal (ibid.). Stylistically this dates to the 13th/14th century (ibid.). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 16 January 2023