“A significant historical find” has been unearthed in Thomastown.
Archaeologists working along Logan Street and Low Street have discovered cobbled thoroughfares, medieval walls and other artefacts dating back as far as the 13th Century.
It is hoped that all the findings will be put on public display once the works have been completed.
Local Cllr Peter “Chap” Cleere has been telling KCLR “What has been found over the last couple of weeks is a 13th-century fireplace, a vase dating back to the 14th century, an old well dating back to the 18th century and also the old cobbled streets of Thomastown from the 18th and 19th centuries and also the remnants of houses, old houses and the old walls of the town dated between the 13th and 19th century so it’s a significant, historical and heritage find”.
He says the findings are great news for the town, although it has significantly delayed the road projects there noting “Archaeologists obviously are on-site monitoring all excavation and it has slowed the progress of it but it’s incredibly exciting in terms of the heritage and the history of Thomastown and the medieval heritage that’s there as well so construction’s been kept to a minimum, it’ll be a fantastic project when it’s complete but it’s really, really exciting to see all this medieval history coming through due to this project”.
And he adds “What we’re hoping is a report has been asked for, hopefully for our next municipal district meeting where we can get details of all of the various different pieces of excavation and the plan would be absolutely that all of these items be made available for all the public to see, we’re very proud of our heritage and our culture in Kilkenny and what’s been found in Thomastown truly is historic and a great piece of heritage so it’s really important that that’s on display so that all of our people can, I suppose, take a trip down memory lane to see what it was like many years ago for our forefathers”.
