County: Dublin Site name: CHRISTCHURCH PLACE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: A.B. Ó Ríordáin, Irish Antiquities Division, National Museum of Ireland
Site type: Historic town
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 714926m, N 734026m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.343966, -6.274060
The excavation of this site which commenced in 1972 was finally completed in January 1976. One of the more interesting features of the work was the finding of seven houses superimposed one upon the other and occupying the same general plot of ground. The structures spanned an occupation period of some two hundred years from the mid tenth century to the early twelfth century. All the houses were of post and wattle construction with the exception of one example of stave style buildings which dated to the mid eleventh century. Coins of the Sitric series were found in three of the houses.
Many examples of carved bone trial pieces were recovered from the site and large number of crucibles, examples of heating trays and other indications of metalworking were found. Other finds included a well preserved example of an eleventh century woodworker’s plane with its iron blade intact, a wooden knife handle bearing finely incised Ringerike-style decoration and a tenth century decorated wooden box and its (originally) sliding lid. Two Anglo-Saxon coins, an iron axehead of Viking type and a bronze strap tag with Borre style decoration were among other notable finds from the lower levels of the site.
