EMAP_Progress_Reports_2009_2.pdf - The Heritage Council

Waterford
There is very little tenth or early eleventh century archaeological evidence though this could
be partly explained as the bulk of excavations took place further west outside the postulated
original town nucleus. An excavation along Bailey’s New Street revealed two large northsouth
aligned ditches backfilled in the late-twelfth/early-thirteenth century (O’Donnell 1999).
The site was situated fairly centrally within the area suspected to be the tenth-century
settlement.
The earliest ditch was 5.7m wide and 1.3m deep and extended for 15m north-south across
the site (not illustrated in Fig. 286). Two sections were excavated and contained
twelfth/thirteenth-century pottery, two stick-pins and a ringed pin (c. AD 950). The other
ditch was filled with material of the same date and extended parallel and to the east of the
early ditch. It is possible that the two ditches may mark the western limits of the original
tenth century Dún.
Late Eleventh-Century Defences
In the late eleventh century, the Phase 3 settlement at Waterford was defended on its west
side by a deep ditch and a large inner (eastern) clay bank. The defences (Fig. 286) ran
parallel to Bakehouse Lane for an excavated length of 35m and were identified along the
eastern side of Arundel Square for a distance of 25m (Hurley 1997c, 21-27). The ditch was
revealed in a number of areas (e.g. Gittings 1986, 1987 & 1988; Hayden 1987 & 1988;
Hurley 1990; Scully 1990).
The excavated sections of the ditch revealed that it had a maximum width of 8.5m at the top
and depth of 2m. The plant remains from the basal layers indicates that it was water-filled
when it was open. A leather scabbard and two motif-pieces were uncovered with organic
layers sealed by the backfilling of the bank. Sherds of pottery were recovered in the upper
levels of the ditch.
The bank was situated on the eastern (inner) side of the ditch and was sourced mostly from
up-cast from the external ditch. The bank survived to a maximum height of 1.8m by Arundel
Square (Site VI) but may have originally stood up to 3m high. It was evidently partly
demolished and had been truncated on its western side by the subsequent stone revetment
wall. The tail of the bank was defined by a flimsy wooden fence at Arundel Square (Site VI).
Though post-holes were uncovered at the eastern lip of the ditch (Site IV), it is probably
likely that the front (west) face of the bank was un-revetted except for woven wattle which
protected the clay from slipping back into the ditch. The bank was composed mostly of stony
heavy yellow clay derived from the ditch.
Two drains, one above the other, were uncovered beneath the bank (VI) and immediately
preceded or were contemporary with its construction. The earliest drain was timber-lined and
produced a dendrochronological date of A.D. 1088±9. This date was consistent with timber
from the associated ditch and indicates that both were built in the late eleventh century. The
later drain was stone-lined and covered by flat capstones.
A combination of rounded logs and radially split planks were uncovered within the excavated
ditch and may have formed part of a breastwork behind which a wooden walkway may have
existed. Eight timbers from the ditch produced dates between A.D. 1070-1090 consistent with
the date of A.D. 1088±9 for the drain pipe which would indicate that the breastwork
superstructure was contemporary with and probably an important component of the bank
and ditch defences.
c. 1130 Town Wall
In the second quarter of the twelfth century, the settlement was defended by a town wall
(Hurley 1997c, 27-31). The wall was uncovered for total length of 22m parallel to Bakehouse
Lane (Fig. 287) with the best preserved lengths in Sites III and IV (20.26m long) and patchy
remains in Site I and II (e.g. Gittings 1986, 1987 & 1988; Hayden 1988; Murtagh & Hurley
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