GIL Power Generation Kilkenny

14. Archaeology, Architectural Heritage and Cultural Heritage 14.1

Introduction

This chapter of the EIS evaluates the potential impacts on archaeology, architecture and cultural heritage arising from the construction and operation of the proposed Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) plant at Purcellsinch, Kilkenny. This chapter is divided into the following sub sections: Introduction

14.2

Methodology

14.3

Archaeological and Cultural Heritage Context

14.4

Existing Environment

14.5

Impact Assessment

14.6

Potential Impacts on the Existing Environment

14.7

Mitigation Measures

14.8

Residual Impacts

14.2

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14.1

Methodology Co

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The material contained in this assessment is based on the Guidelines on the Information to be Contained in Environmental Impact Statements (E.P.A. 2002, 2003) and conforms to the methodologies recommended in the Framework and Principles for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage issued by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (1999). All recommendations conform to the legislative frameworks of the National Monuments Acts 1930 - 1994, Heritage Act 2000 and the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (ratified by Ireland 1997). 14.2.1 Desk-Top Study: Resources Used The desk-top study employed a range of archival and documentary sources to provide an account of the cultural heritage of the study area. The most important of these were the Record of Monuments and Places and the topographical files and finds lists of the National Museum of Ireland, aerial photographs and cartographic and published documentary sources. 14.2.1.1 The Record of Monuments and Places The Record of Monuments and Places (RMP) is compiled by the Archaeological Survey of Ireland (ASI) and comprises lists and maps of all monuments with known locations. The files for these sites contain details of documentary sources and aerial photographs, early maps, Ordnance Survey (OS) memoirs, Office of Public Works (OPW) Archaeological Survey notes and other relevant publications.

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GIL Power Generation Kilkenny 14.2.1.2 Topographic Files The topographical files in the National Museum of Ireland (NMI) identify all recorded finds held in the National Museum of Ireland archive that have been donated to the State in accordance with national monuments legislation. The files were consulted to determine if any archaeological artefacts had been recorded from the development site area. 14.2.1.3 Aerial Photography Ordnance Survey Ireland aerial photography (2000 & 2005) of the main development site and the pumphouse was examined. 14.2.1.4 Cartographic Sources Reference to cartographic sources is important in tracing land use development within the area as well as providing important topographical information on sites and areas of archaeological potential. Primary cartographic sources consulted consisted of the first edition (1841) and second edition (1913) six-inch Ordnance Survey maps. 14.2.1.5 Excavations

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The excavation bulletin website (www.excavations.ie) was consulted to identify previous excavations that may have been carried out within the study area. This database contains summary accounts of excavations carried out in Ireland from 1970 to 2005. 14.2.1.6 Published Documentary Sources

The following published documentary sources were reviewed:

Carrigan, W. The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory. 4 vols. (1905) (Reprint Kilkenny 1981);

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Doyle, J. The History of St. John’s, Kilkenny, Kilkenny (1990);

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Neary, P. A Newly Discovered Anglo-Norman Ringwork Castle from Purcell’s Inch Townland, Kilkenny, Old Kilkenny Review 2005 p106-108 (2005);

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Neary, P. ‘Purcell’s Inch, in I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2004, no. 992, Wordwell Bray (2007); and

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O’Kelly, O. The Place-Names of County Kilkenny. Kilkenny Archaeology Society (1985).

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14.2.1.7 National Inventory of Architectural Heritage The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) was consulted to identify post-1700 architectural heritage of Ireland. NIAH surveys provide the basis for recommendation to planning authorities for inclusion of particular structures or features in their Record of Protected Structures (RPS). The published surveys are a source of information on the selected structures for relevant planning authorities. 14.2.2 Archaeological Test Excavation Archaeological test excavation is defined as: ‘that form of archaeological excavation where the purpose is to establish the nature and extent of archaeological deposits and features present in a location which it is proposed to develop (though not normally to fully investigate those deposits or features) and allow an assessment to be made of the 262872/ENV//1/B 11 October 2012 C:\DOCUME~1\mcc46907\OTLocal\PIMSLI~1\Workbin\5A5234E7.0\GIL Kilkenny Final EIS.doc

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GIL Power Generation Kilkenny archaeological impact of the proposed development’ (Framework and Principles for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage 1999, 27). In the original planning permission granted to Mountside Properties by An Bord Pleanála (ABP reference: 10.230211), Condition No. 11 stated the following: The developer shall facilitate the planning authority in the archaeological appraisal of the site and in preserving and recording or otherwise protecting archaeological materials or features which may exist within the site. In this regard, the developer shall: (a) notify the planning authority in writing at least four weeks prior to the commencement of any site operation (including hydrological and geotechnical investigations) relating to the proposed development, and (b) employ a suitably-qualified archaeologist prior to the commencement of development. The archaeologist shall assess the site and monitor all site development works. The assessment shall address the following issues: (i) the nature and location of archaeological material on the site, and

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(ii) the impact of the proposed development on such archaeological material.

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Prior to commencement of development, a report containing the results of the assessment shall be submitted to the planning authority. Arising from this assessment, the developer shall agree with the planning authority details regarding any further archaeological requirements (including, if necessary, archaeological excavation) prior to commencement of construction works. In default of agreement on any of these requirements, the matter shall be referred to the Board for determination.

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In order to comply with the above condition an archaeological assessment of the site was undertaken. The report presenting the findings of this assessment is included in Appendix W Archaeological Assessment Report. 14.2.3 Previous Archaeological Investigations Two significant archaeological investigations have taken place within the environs of the proposed development site. In 2004 a limited excavation took place adjacent to an enclosure RMP KK19:103, 300 metres north-east of the proposed development site (Neary 2005). The monument is a sub-circular embanked enclosure measuring 32 metres north-south and 20 metres east-west, as illustrated in Figure 14.1. In a section that was exposed by the excavation of a new industrial site adjoining the monument site, a fosse 7 metres wide and 1.10 metres deep was noted. The centre of the fosse was approximately 40 metres from the edge of the platform. The site was interpreted by the excavator as an Anglo-Norman ringwork castle, based on the scale of the monument, its morphology and its siting near the parish church of St. Kilmolig (RMP KK19:29).

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Figure 14.1 Plan and Sections of possible Ringwork Castle RMP KK19:103 (Neary 2005)

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Figure 14.2 Geophysical Survey and Interpretation at St. Kilmolig’s Church

In 2009 Kilkenny Archaeology conducted a geophysical survey adjacent to the medieval church of St. Kilmolig’s at the request of the Voluntary Health Insurance (VHI) in advance of a proposal to construct a wind turbine (Kilkenny County Council planning reference: 08/1565). A gradiometer and resistance survey was carried out within the grassed area, the former graveyard, around the church, as illustrated in Figure 14.2. These documented segments of two broadly concentric enclosures. The innermost enclosure measures 35 metres east-west x 35 metres north south (its northern extent was truncated by the railway line) and is almost certainly the churchyard boundary wall depicted on the 1841 first edition Ordnance Survey map. The footings for a 5 metre x 4 metre stone building are positioned on the west side of the wall. A curving ditched enclosure runs 20 metres outside this boundary and although only its western 262872/ENV//1/B 11 October 2012 C:\DOCUME~1\mcc46907\OTLocal\PIMSLI~1\Workbin\5A5234E7.0\GIL Kilkenny Final EIS.doc

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GIL Power Generation Kilkenny section was picked up it can be estimated to have enclosed an area c.75 metres x 60 metres, with the church slightly off-centre to the east. Between the stone boundary wall and the outer ditch is a 15 metre long segment of ditch that could be an earth-cut souterrain. The discovery of a series of enclosures around the church, and a possible souterrain, greatly strengthens the argument that St. Kilmolig’s was a pre Norman foundation. The concept of enclosure around early monastic sites probably had its origins in the th 7 century and was a response to secular encroachment on sacred monastic grounds. It is most likely that the innermost wall, in common with most graveyards, relates to the 1856 Burial Grounds (Ireland) act. In 1869 a motion was passed by the Kilkenny Union to give effect to the act and this required that all the county’s graveyards should be enclosed by stone walls (Kilkenny Journal 19.6.1869). In most cases this resulted in the burial grounds being made considerably smaller and thus the outer ditch discovered in the geophysical survey can probably be equated with the sanctissium, the innermost enclosure of the monastery.

14.3

Archaeological, Architectural and Cultural Heritage Context

14.3.1 Location, Geology and Topography

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Purcellsinch is a townland in the barony of Gowran and the parish of St. John’s, 2.3 kilometres east of Kilkenny City. The proposed development area is bounded on the north by a prominent ridge which overlooks the floodplains of the River Nore and the Soineán Dian stream, 150 metres to the west. The bedrock geology below the site and indeed all of Kilkenny city is limestone and calcareous shale of 8 Carboniferous age (534 - 390 million years ago). The rock is capped by glaciofluvial gravels which are dominated by limestone clasts, outwash deposits that resulted from the melting of ice at the end of the last glaciation 18,000 - 14,500 BP - these are found throughout the Nore and Breagagh river valleys. 14.3.2 The Manor of Kilmologga

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St. Kilmolig’s was the parish church for the manor of Kilmologga in the Middle Ages. Whilst the manor and civil parish were most probably co-extensive, the boundaries of the parish are unknown due to its amalgamation into the city parish of St. John’s in the sixteenth century. However, Doyle has suggested, based on the parish limits, that it comprised the townlands of Leggetsrath, Middleknock, Sionhermitage, Quarryland, Hebron and Purcellsinch (Doyle 1990, 33) and these are utilised in Figure 14.3. This however conflicts with the depiction of the parish of Purcellsinch on the Down Survey map, which shows a considerably smaller area (Figure 14.4).

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Geological Survey of Ireland bedrock geology maps http://193.178.1.182/website/gsi_multi/viewer.htm (accessed 19th July 2007).

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Figure 14.3 The parish of Purcellsinch marked on the Down Survey map 1654

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Figure 14.4 Map showing the suggested boundaries of the manor and parish of Kilmogga and medieval archaeological sites

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The manor was within the medieval liberty of Kilkenny and although it is not recorded to whom it was initially granted, it was probably a fief of one of William Marshal’s retinue after he gained seisin in 1192. The earliest historical allusion to the manor occurs in 1382 when William Ilger’s will includes a fee of ‘60 acres in Kylmelag’ (Carrigan 1905 iii, 265). By 1389 Ilger’s lands had passed to John Lye (Carrigan 1905 9 iii, 265). In 1597 the manor was held by the Purcell family, who gave the townland its name , ‘inch’ which presumably refers to the river-meadow where cattle were taken for summer grazing (Carrigan 1905 iii, 265; Flanagan & Flanagan 1994, 100). The manor is also variously referred to in the Calendar of Documents Ireland in 1400 (COD 2.353), 1560 (COD 5.118) and 1564 (COD 5.149).

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Figure 14.5 Site location marked on first edition Ordnance Survey map (sheet 19) 1841

In 1625 an inquisition found Philip Purcell, late of Ballyfoyle, deceased, the father of Edmund Purcell, ‘being seised of the manor, town and lands of Mullergge otherwise Purcell's ensh’ (Carrigan 1905 iii, 265). Tenements and a fishery at St. Mallaggee are alluded to in 1633, at which time they were held by Philip Purcell of Ballyfoyle (Carrigan 1905 iii, 265). In 1640 Henry Mainwaring held the lands and following the Cromwellian confiscations much of the manor continued in their possession (Doyle 1990, 33). Purcellsinch became the centre of the Knaresborough and later Montmorency estate in the early eighteenth century and 10 Inch House was built c.1745 . The manorial castle was probably the ‘turret’ and mound (RMP KK19:35) 260 metres south-east of the church, possibly a tower house. This site stood until the 1980s when it was levelled and it is marked on the first edition Ordnance Survey map. Doyle was also of the opinion that this was the castle site and he notes it was taken down c.1800 (Doyle 1990, 33). Recent excavations at an enclosure (RMP KK19:103) 500 metres from the church have indicated there may have been a second, earlier, ringwork castle on the site that perhaps was superseded by the ‘turret’.

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logainm.ie http://homepage.eircom.net/~lawekk/HSESP.HTM (accessed 4th August 2009).

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St. Kilmolig’s church and graveyard The dedication of the church to St. Kilmolig (St. Mo-Laca) suggests the foundation may pre-date the AngloNorman colonisation. Little is known about St. Mo-Laca though according to O’Kelly he is reputed to have assisted St. Patrick in his missionary work in Ireland during the fifth century and founded the monastery at Timoleague, County Cork (Carrigan 1905 iii, 264). He is also credited with having brought beekeeping to Ireland. What remains of the church building shows no obvious pre-Norman fabric - the intact splayed round-headed window in the north wall is very similar to the east window in Churchclara, which is dated to the thirteenth century. Carrigan however gives the following description of the building: ‘the ancient parish church of Kilmologga in ruins in the townland of Purcell's Inch, one Irish mile south of Kilkenny city. An east - west structure about 40 ft. long internally, and 20 ft. wide, the walls being about 2½ ft. thick. Both gables are gone, but most of the side-walls remain to a height of six or eight feet. In the east end of the north wall is a small window, broken on the outside, round-headed on the inside, and unmistakably Celtic. Both north and south walls are pierced through and through with small square apertures. The doorway appears to have been situated towards the west end of the north wall, where a large gap now appears in the masonry. Kilmologga church is of earlier date than the Anglo-Norman Invasion, and may most probably be assigned to the 11th century ‘(Carrigan 1905 iii, 265).

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Shortly before 1300 the church was appropriated to the priory of St. John’s in the city and at the Reformation the parish (along with Fennel) was merged with St. John's. Presumably the church must have been abandoned shortly thereafter as it does not appear on the Down Survey map. The church was in th ruins by the 19 century and today little remains of it apart from the side-walls and two round-headed splayed slit-windows in the north wall. The ruined church is positioned within a small green area which is flanked by industrial units, access roads and a carpark in the north of IDA Business and Technology Park. Directly to the north of the ruined church the Kilkenny - Dublin railway line (built c.1845) is located.

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Figure 14.6 Aerial photograph showing proposed development location and surrounding archaeological sites (www.archaeology.ie)

KK019-029 Church & Graveyard

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KK019-035 Mound and Building

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KK019-103 Enclosure

KK019-104 Lime-Kiln

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Although it is certain there would have been a graveyard around the church there is no surface trace of it and no grave markers are visible. However, a c.50 metre east-west x 40 metre north-south sub-rectangular cemetery bounded by a wall was recorded on the first edition Ordnance Survey map 1841, though not on the 1902 map (Figure 14.5). In addition the Archaeological Survey noted traces of it surviving in the 1980s: “…the church is situated at the north end of a small rectangular graveyard which is totally overgrown, with no trace of any grave markers. There is a tradition of 'bishops grave' here” (RMP file). That a graveyard exists around the church was confirmed recently by Kilkenny Archaeology when borehole profiles taken 12 metres west of the church revealed human bone.

14.4

Existing Environment

The main power plant development area occupies a 1.32 hectare green-field site, divided by a fence, immediately to the east of the Purcellsinch Wastewater Treatment Plant. It is located on sloping ground (46 metres O.D. at north, 42 metres O.D. at south), a former flood plain, that descends to the river. The north of the site contains a ridge of higher ground, which is a landscaped version of a glacial bluff that overlooks the floodplain. The site on which the pumphouse is located is approximately 130 metres to the west of the main development area and has an area of approximately 0.2 hectares. During the middle ages the floodplains around Kilkenny were utilised for summer grazing and were an important economic resource. They were known as the ‘inches’ and this gave its names to the townland of Purcellsinch.

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GIL Power Generation Kilkenny Figure 14.7 Main Development Site marked on 25 inch map 188-1913 (Ordnance Survey Ireland)

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Figure 14.8 Limekiln RMP KK19:104 from south

Because the bulk of the proposed development site is below the glacial ridge it most likely was part of the ‘inch’, with settlement taking place on the higher ground to the north. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the proposed site was the south-west of the former Knaresborough and Montmorency demesne of Inch House, as shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey map and the 1913 25 inch map (Figure 14.5 and Figure 14.6). The map also shows trees set as standards within a designed landscape that also includes a formal garden around the estate house, a formal entrance off the Sion road, and the planting of tree rings on the various archaeological monuments, including the nearby lime kiln in the demesne (Figure 14.8).

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GIL Power Generation Kilkenny The proposed development area is within the former medieval manor of Kilmologga and a probable ringwork castle (RMP KK19:103), a probable tower house (RMP 19:035) and a medieval parish church and graveyard (RMP KK19:029) are recorded within 500 metres of the site (Figure 14.6). The nearest recorded monument is however a lime kiln (RMP KK19:104) 100 metres to the east.

14.5

Impact Assessment

A method statement for archaeological test excavations at Purcellsinch was agreed with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (DoECLG) and was carried out under licence to excavate 11E016. th

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Archaeological testing was undertaken on the main development site between 12 - 16 January 2011. The excavation trenches were dug with a 2 metre wide grading bucket by a 20 ton tracking machine. The findings of the impact assessment are discussed in detail in Appendix W Archaeological Assessment Report and summarised in Table 14.1. Archaeological testing was not undertaken on the site on which the pumphouse is located as no significant groundworks are proposed on this site.

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Table 14.1: Archaeological Test Trenches Dimensions

Description

1

62m x 1.2m depth x 2m width

0.1m of topsoil overlay a spread of modern rubble. This was thickest, 0.4m, in the north and extended throughout most of the trench. The rubble probably derived from demolition works, possibly when the adjoining water treatment plant was being built. The rubble covered 0.4m of buried topsoil which overlay a 0.3m thick B-horizon. It was in turn over a sticky yellow clay boulder clay, 0.2m deep above a stony gravel substratum. Nothing of archaeological interest was noted.

2

92m x 0.95m depth x 2m width

0.1m of topsoil overlay a 0.4m deep spread of modern rubble, as in trench .1The rubble covered 0.4m of buried topsoil which overlay a 0.3m thick Bhorizon. It was in turn over a sticky yellow clay boulder clay, 0.1m deep above a stony gravel substratum. Nothing of archaeological interest was noted.

3

86m x 0.7m depth x 2m max. depth

0.1m of topsoil overlay a 0.5m B-horizon.It was in turn over a sticky yellow clay boulder clay, 0.1m deep above a stony gravel substratum. Nothing of archaeological interest was noted.

4

78m x 0.5m depth x 2m max. depth

0.1m of topsoil overlay a 0.4m B-horizon which overlay a stony gravel substratum. Nothing of archaeological interest was noted.

5

67m x 0.5m depth x 2m max. depth

0.1m of topsoil overlay a 0.4m B-horizon which overlay a stony gravel substratum. Nothing of archaeological interest was noted.

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32m x 0.8m depth x 2m width

0.1m of topsoil overlay a 0.7m B-horizon which overlay a stony gravel substratum. Nothing of archaeological interest was noted.

7

63m x 1.5m depth x 2m width

0.1m of topsoil overlay 1.3m of mixed re-deposited yellow clay and gravel substratum dumped from adjacent construction sites. It overlay 0.2m of buried sod which was over the deep yellow clay subsoil and gravel substratum. Nothing of archaeological interest was noted.

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69m x 2.45m depth x 2m width

0.1m of topsoil overlay 1.3m of mixed re-deposited yellow clay and gravel substratum dumped from adjacent construction sites. It overlay 0.1-0.15m of buried sod which was over 0.4m of brownish-yellow clay. It in turn covered a second sod level, 0.3m deep, from which Victorian whitewares were recovered. The 0.3m deep yellow clay subsoil underlay this layer and was over gravel substratum.

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Test Trench

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Nothing of archaeological significance was noted in the excavated test-trenches and it is reasonable to conclude the development area formed part of the medieval inches, the water-meadows utilised for summer grazing during the middle ages that gave their name to the townland of Purcellsinch.

14.6

Potential Impacts on the Existing Environment

Ground disturbance associated with the proposed development will include the following: •

Construction of the proposed Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) Power plant; and

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Ancillary site works.

14.6.1 ‘Do Nothing’ Impacts If no development is carried out on this site the potential subsurface archaeology will not be impacted in any way and will remain undisturbed. 14.6.2 Potential Impacts No items of archaeological, architectural or cultural heritage value were noted as being extant on the subject site. However, the proposed development site does have the potential to yield sub surface archaeological material. The proposed development area is within the former medieval manor of Kilmologga and a probable ringwork castle (RMP KK19:103), a probable tower house (RMP 19:035) and a medieval parish church and 262872/ENV//1/B 11 October 2012 C:\DOCUME~1\mcc46907\OTLocal\PIMSLI~1\Workbin\5A5234E7.0\GIL Kilkenny Final EIS.doc

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GIL Power Generation Kilkenny graveyard (RMP KK19:029) are recorded within 500 metres of the main development site. The nearest recorded monument is however a lime kiln (RMP KK19:104) 100 metres to the east of this site. There are no archaeological recorded monuments (RMPs) within the main development site and no “new” (that is unrecorded) archaeological features identified as being extant during the archaeological inspection of the site or test trench excavations. However, the subject site does have the potential to yield archaeological remains subsurface, which at present show no above-ground register. It should be noted that no excavation works are proposed as part of the refurbishment of the pumphouse building. There is potential to yield archaeological remains subsurface when laying new pipe infrastructure in the Sion Road to facilitate the transfer of water from the existing pumphouse on IDA lands to the main development site. 14.6.3

‘Worst Case Scenario’

Should the proposed development proceed without archaeological mitigation measures, there is the possibility that archaeological material may by uncovered and / or destroyed without the supervision and guidance of a professional archaeologist.

14.7

Mitigation Measures

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It is recommended that the site preparation groundworks for the permitted development be archaeologically monitored to mitigate against any potential archaeological impact. ‘this involves an archaeologist being present in the course of development works (which may include conservation works), so as to identify and protect archaeological deposits, features or objects which may be uncovered or otherwise affected by the works’ (Framework and Principles for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage, Dept. of Arts Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands 1999).’

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An archaeological monitoring methodology will be agreed prior to commencement of development and following planning approval with the archaeological licensing section of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the National Museum of Ireland (DoAHG). This methodology will include for all site works as well as ‘off-site’ infrastructure associated with proposals for a river abstraction from the River Nore.

14.8

Residual Impacts

It is not anticipated that any residual impacts of significance will remain if the appropriate archaeological mitigation measures are put in place.

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14-15

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