EMAP_Progress_Reports_2009_2.pdf - The Heritage Council

Waterford
eastern half of the earlier defensive bank. It survived to over eight courses above a stone
footing along the northern section and may have originally stood at over 3m high.
Fig. 287: Plan of excavated defences at Bakehouse Lane, Waterford (after Hurley et al. 1997,
23).
Two distinct building styles were identified in the wall, one towards the north and the other
to the south with a distinct constructional break where both meet at the southern end of Site
III. The wall along the southern section (Lady Lane (Site I) to almost midway through Site
III) was faced with large conglomerate boulders and roughly dressed blocks of sandstone laid
horizontally in rough courses above a single-course footing.
Two vertical discontinuities were apparent along the northern length though the masonry was
of similar style- regular courses of rectangular or squared roughly dressed shale and
sandstone blocks. The discontinuities in the masonry may reflect the practice of building the
wall in sections by different groups of masons.
The western (outer) face of the stone wall and a gateway were exposed on the southern side
of modern Peter Street (Site V). The gateway consisted of two ashlar built jambs of
sandstone, three to four courses high above projecting single-course plinths. A compacted
‘street’ surface of boulder clay at the same level of the plinths was uncovered 3m below
modern Peter Street.
The wall was set back from the eastern lip of the ditch creating a narrow berm which
increased from 1m at the north end, to 1.7m at the south end due to the divergence of the
wall. A metalled surface (4m-4.5m wide) was laid partially on top of the berm, and over the
backfilled ditch and extended parallel to the wall for most of its excavated length (II, III and
IV, but not I).
Constructional debris such as mortar and chipped stones- apparently derived from dressing
the stones used in the wall- overlay the track-way and indicate that it was built shortly before
the wall was built. Overlying the chippings was a series of horizontally-laid radially-split oak
beams 1m to the west of the stone wall which extended parallel to it for over 14m. The
beams ran along the edge of the berm and may have marked the line of firm ground.
One beam lying directly on the chippings yielded a dendrochronological date of 1132±9 and
indicates that the wall was probably constructed in the second quarter of the twelfth century.
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