1985:24 - DUBLIN CASTLE, Dublin

Excavations, in advance of restoration work, commenced in April '85 and will continue until Spring of '86. Current excavations are concentrated in the area outside the NW corner tower of the castle. Remains of the corner tower (rebuilt in the 17th century) have been exposed underlying the existing 18th-century castle building. The extent of the surrounding moat (c. 22m wide) has been defined. The moat was filled in and levelled off in the later 17th century and subsequently sold for housing purposes. The remains of these 18th-century houses have been recorded in detail. A small area outside the edge of the moat is producing evidence of pre-Norman occupation, e.g. wattle structures and a decorated bone comb with Runic inscription (possibly 10th-century). The number of finds recorded to date is c. 35,000 - these include fine collections of 17th and 18th-century ceramics and glass, in addition to the earlier medieval material. (For more recent information on this excavation and on the work carried out at the same location by C. Manning see I.A.P.A. Newsletter No. 3, Spring 1986.)