Kilkenny Archaeological Project

Heritage Audit of the River Nore Phase 1

kkap — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:58:09 +0000

A Heritage Audit of the River Nore Heritage Phase 1 was commissioned by the Heritage Office of Kilkenny County Council in 2009. It comprised the survey and mapping of all, the built, natural and cultural heritage of the river from Ballynalsee (Laois-Kilkenny border) to Ossory Bridge, south of Kilkenny City.
Information was gathered through a combination of data research, field surveys (including a survey by canoe) and consultation with local communities. The project was funded and supported by Kilkenny Local Authorities and the Heritage Council with support from the Heritage Forum.

Reports are now available online here: http://www.kilkennycoco.ie/eng/Publications/Council_News/Heritage_Audit_of_the_River_Nore_.23994.shortcut.html

Internship at KKAP available via JobBridge

kkap — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:47:49 +0000

Applications are invited through JobBridge for a nine month internshp at KKAP. The successful candidate will be working as an archaeological researcher with the project and will in particular focus on undertaking post excavation work on the publication of a series of major excavations from the city. Training will be given in a range of post excavation analyses, digital illustration and GIS mapping techniques. Fieldwork training will also be provided. See jobbridge.ie (search for archaeological researcher) for further details and applications may be made by emailing your cv to coilin@kilkennyarchaeology.ie

KKAP night course 2012

kkap — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:34:46 +0000

C. O Drisceoil of the Kilkenny Archaeological Project will be tutoring a night course on ‘Life and Death in Medieval Kilkenny’ at NUI Maynooth’s Kilkenny Campus. Time: Thursdays 7-9pm Feb 23rd - March 29th 2011. Please contact kilkenny.campus@nuim.ie for further details.

New evidence for pre Anglo-Norman bone and antler working at Saint Canice’s cathedral

kkap — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:04:40 +0000

New insights into the economy and topography of the early medieval monastery of Cill Chainnigh has been revealed by excavations at the Robing Room, near the Bishop’s Palace. The excavations were carried out by Kilkenny Archaeology on behalf of the Heritage Council as part of the conservation works for the eighteenth century Robing Room. The excavation found evidence for the levelled embankment that surrounded the inner sacred space where the round tower stands. This bank covered a pit that was filled with waste from a bone and antler workshop. One of the antler tines was radiocarbon dated to the period 1000-1140 ca. AD. Antler tines have been foundon three other occasions around the cathedral close but this is the first time they have been dated. The date confirms the industry is related to the pre Anglo-Norman period when the cathedral was the chief church in Ossory and a major power centre. The high status of the site has also been confirmed by Nikolah Gilligan’s analysis of the charred plant remains from the pit. One of the most interesting of Nikolah’s findings was a single grape pip. This appears to be the earliest evidence yet found in Ireland for grape and raises many interesting questions. Were grapes grown in early medieval Kilkenny? Or was this an import? Whatever the answer it underlines the status of the monastic site in the eleventh-twelfth centuries and also the fact Kilkenny was the height of sophistication long before the rest of the country! The botanical report can be downloaded here: http://www.kkap.ie/assets/bishops-palace-plant-remains.pdf

And the preliminary report on the excavation here: http://www.kkap.ie/assets/11e157-robing-room-preliminary-archaeological-report-september-2011.pdf

ipmag 2011

kkap — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:17:00 +0000

Irish Post Medieval Archaeology Group’s 2011 conference is taking place the first weekend of February and includes a paper by C. O Drisceoil: Rothe House, Kilkenny and the archaeology of early modern urban gardens. Further info here.

INSTAR 2011

kkap — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 10:27:23 +0000

The Heritage Council have announced that INSTAR 2011 is open for applications.

KKAP MA thesis receives first class honours!

kkap — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:12:52 +0000

Congratulations to Gertie Keane who received a first from the school of archaeology UCD for her MA thesis ‘Great Stone Houses: Kilkenny and its Early Modern Townhouses 1550-1650′. The thesis was completed as part of the the ‘Early Modern Town’ research strand of KKAP and provides for the first time a detailed inventory and contextualisation of the remarkable stock of Renaissance style townhouses which Kilkenny is fortunate to possess. A PDF of the thesis may be downloaded here.

Talbot’s tower brochure for walled towns day 2010

kkap — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:05:32 +0000

You can download a PDF copy of a brochure produced about excavations at Talbot’s tower for Irish Walled Towns Day here.

O Tunney school of sculpture conference 30th July - 1st August

kkap — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:15:10 +0000

A major conference to celebrate the late Medieval O’Tunney school of sculpture is being organised by the Callan Heritage Society and will be held 30th July - 1st August. To book your place see the attached programme here .

Kilkenny castle geophysics first results!

kkap — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:57:56 +0000

Preliminary results from the Heritage Council funded geophysical survey at Kilkenny castle are very promising. Kevin Barton’s radar survey in the main courtyard has recorded the two towers of William Marshal’s great gatehouse in the south range as well as the massive 8m deep moat that runs outside the gate. A number of structures within the courtyard have also been discovered. Earthsound’s resistance survey has located a host of features in the park including what appears to be early garden paths, the demolished ‘outer gate’ of the castle, and a 5-6m wide ditch running on a peculiar alignment outside the main gatehouse. The buried remains of the medieval Thomastown road have been found and also a large double building (stables?) flanking the road about half way down the survey area. These are all very preliminary results though and a lot of further work is needed to work out exactly what’s what. The final reports will be uploaded to the website over the coming weeks. Sincere thanks to the Heritage Council and the survey team of James Bonsall, Heather Gimson, Kevin Barton Linnae Bel-Maguire and Mark Nolan who did such a fantastic job! And of course a big thank you also to the staff of the OPW at Kilkenny castle for allowing us to do the survey!