Excavation — miscellaneous in Irishtown,limerick City

Excavations carried out in John Street by Brian Hodkinson in 1987 prior to redevelopment were summarised as following; 'The area excavated lies at the corner of John St. and Davitt St. and measures c. 8m along John St. by c. 21m. The northern and southern boundaries are provided by the stone foundations of recently demolished buildings and a third wall foundation bisects the site longitudinally to form two plots. At the front of both plots were deep cellars which have removed all stratified deposits. All these walls are post 17th-century. Medieval features (LI005-017133-) were few, being mostly pits and depressions of uncertain function. There was one hearth, directly above the natural clay, which had been badly cut by the southern wall foundation. The absence of building remains, together with the presence of a grey-brown silty clay which covered the whole area, led to the conclusion that the area was back-yard or garden throughout the medieval period. The finds were few, being mostly pottery (imported and local) and animal bone. Seventeenth-century features were more substantial and included the remains of at least one wattle and daub structure (LI005-017135-) which had been destroyed by fire. The flue of a kiln (LI005-017134-) was also uncovered but its chamber had been destroyed by the cellars. A shallow pit at the mouth of the kiln was found to be contemporary with it and the two features seem to have formed one unit. Neither the pit nor the kiln produced definite evidence for the use of the kiln. A coin of James II was found in the demolition debris of the kiln' (www.excavations.ie). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 19 December 2019