DIGGING WEXFORD

As many as seventy archaeological investigations have been carried out in Wexford town during the past thirty years. The majority of these were not very productive but some yielded potentially significant artefacts and information. For various reasons, vital evidence relating to the town’s medieval origins recovered in many of these excavations is not readily available for the academic research which could begin to provide a clearer picture of Wexford’s establishment as a Viking settlement and evolution as an Anglo-Norman town. As a first step towards resolving this situation, Wexford Historical Society, in conjunction with the Heritage Council, Wexford County Council and Wexford Corporation, is organising this Conference to explore the wealth of information that has been archaeologically recovered in recent years and to prioritise the need for correlation and publication. It is also opportune at this time of intensive commercial development to evaluate the significance of Wexford’s medieval core and to focus on the cultural and economic value of the town’s Viking and Anglo-Norman heritage.

Over the last thirty years there have been a large number of archaeological excavations in Wexford town. Our picture shows the excavation at Oyster lane undertaken by Dr. Pat Wallace, Director of the National Museum in 1974. On his right is the late Mr. John Scanlon of St. John’s Road. In 1988 there was a major find at lower Bride Street and Edward Bourke the archaeologist who supervised the excavation published preliminary evidence from the dig in Wexford Historical Society Journal No. 12. At that time the owner of the site Mr. Coleman Doyle suspended all building work on the site until the archaeological excavation was fully completed. In more recent years as a result of intensive commercial development there have been a number of significant archaeological excavations such as the recent ones at Shaw's Department Store and at the White’s Hotel site. Much archaeological evidence of important historical interest also emerged at the time of the Main Drainage scheme.

The Conference was officially opened by Batt O’Keeffe, Minister of State at the Department of Heritage and Environment, who stressed the importance of heritage and the need for conservation and information. The conference was made possible by support from The Heritage Council, Wexford Borough Council and Wexford County Council.

The background to the topic for the week-end was provided by Dr Pat Wallace, Director of the National Museum of Ireland, who gave a wide-ranging lecture on Viking towns, and by John Bradley, N.U.I. Maynooth, who spoke on the establishment of chartered towns, including Wexford, by the Anglo-Normans. Archaeologists Joanna Wren, Emmet Stafford and Ed Bourke spoke about medieval material that had been uncovered in a number of places in the town. This included the remains of sixteen houses, three of them from the Norse period, at Bride Street, and evidence to show that, before land reclamation, the medieval shore line coincided with the present North and South Main Street. Clare McCutcheon, the foremost pottery expert in Ireland, gave a fascinating account of how the use of pottery fragments can be used to interpret medieval society and trade. A recurring theme during the week-end was the importance of the Bride Street excavation in which thousands of artefacts were recovered. Carried out in 1988 by Ed Bourke, this ‘dig’ was made possible by the civic-minded co-operation of Mr Colman Doyle, the owner of the site.

Ian Doyle, Archaeology Officer with the Heritage Council and a native of Wexford, outlined an approach to the conservation and presentation of the surviving fabric of medieval towns, using the example of towns such as Kilkenny and Youghal. On Saturday afternoon, about sixty of those attending took part in a walk along the town wall during which eminent urban archaeologist Ben Murtagh gave a commentary. The week-end was brought to a close by Billy Colfer, Chairman of Wexford Historical Society, who spoke on Wexford’s Medieval Heritage. During a panel discussion it was agreed to examine the possibility of publishing the conference proceedings.

On Saturday 12th March 2005 the sixtieth anniversary of the Historical Society was marked by a Civic Reception in the Municipal Buildings, hosted by His Worship the Mayor of Wexford, Councillor David Hynes.