Location
License No.
Description
The presence of this skeleton together with the coffin fragments yet without any evidence for a grave cut suggested that the coffin was moved from its original location. An examination of the west-facing section showed that a number of service lines for water and sewage were inserted relatively recently into this area of the carpark. This servicing necessitated the removal of three headstones, which were placed with the burials immediately to the north of the pipes. The exposure of in situ burials in all test-trenches corroborated the cartographic evidence and showed that the graveyard for St Anne’s extended eastwards into the proposed development site. All burials remained unexcavated and were covered with heavy-duty plastic before the trenches were backfilled. The recovery of disarticulated human bone throughout the excavated layers indicates that a large number of burials were disturbed and displaced during the construction of the North Infirmary in the 19th century. Planning permission to construct the extension to the hotel was granted in December 2001 subject to a full-scale archaeological excavation being undertaken in 2002. An excavation is taking place before development of the Shandon Court Hotel, formerly the North Infirmary Hospital, Cork. The development area is to the immediate west of the hotel and was formerly part of the graveyard of St Anne’s Church of Ireland churc h. The excavation began in October 2002 and to date has uncovered burials and headstones of 19th-century date. Monitoring took place before construction works. Test excavations were carried out by Daniel Noonan before construction works at the adjacent properties of 17, 18 and 19A Popes Quay (Excavations 2000, No. 130, 00E0934), and there were similar requirements for development at 19 – 20 Popes Quay. Toward the end of November 2001 there was an apparently non- deliberate breach of planning conditions by the developers. Substantial groundworks, consisting mainly of the insertion of foundation piles, were carried out without the required test excavations. Owing to the wholesale manner in which these works disturbed the original ground surface, test excavation was no longer a viable option. After discussions, it was agreed to monitor the remaining groundworks. The development site is in a riverside position on the north side of the northernmost channel of the River Lee. This is an extramural location north of the medieval walled city but within the zone of archaeological potential. Almost all of the building stock on the north side of the river is contemporaneous and has its origins in the phase of urban development that occurred in Cork in the 18th century.
Shandon, Cork
01E0529
19 – 20 Popes Quay, Cork
01E1136
Integrated Urban Strategy, Shandon, Cork Baseline archaeological assessment
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