1990:040 - DUBLIN: 9-12 Arran Quay, Dublin

Excavation was undertaken in advance of development as archaeological deposits occurred on the site. Excavation was funded by the developer and took place over a six week period in July and August, 1990. The excavated area was located close to the streetfront at nos 9-12 Arran Quay. A c. 300 sq. m area was excavated to subsoil. Archaeological deposits varied between 1m and 1.5m in depth.

Phase 1
A bank of sand projecting south-eastwards into the Liffey built up rapidly by river action in the later 13th century, possibly as a result of activity downstream in the vicinity of the medieval river bridge.

Phase 2
The bank was delimited by a timber baseplated and frontbraced revetment on its southern and western sides. The revetment is of similar construction to parts of the structure dated to 1210 AD, uncovered at Wood Quay. River silts and organic refuse were dumped behind the revetment to raise the ground level. The top of the contemporary ground surface on the landward side of this and later revetments did not survive due to the presence of later cellars. The structure was dated to the early 14th century using dendrochronology and the ceramic assemblage with which it was associated.

Phase 3
The phase two revetment was extended westwards, some of the baseplates of the earlier structure being re-used. It also appears that part of the southern end of the revetment was extended further out into the river. This phase of activity appears to date also to the earlier 14th century.

Phase 4
A possible third phase of wooden revetment was indicated by a cut made in the river silts on the riverward side of the earlier structures. Only a single timber of this possible revetment survived. The structure extended the frontage further out into the river and also further westwards. It appears to have been of late 14th-century date.

Phase 5
A stone river-wall was constructed on the riverward side of the earlier structures. It also extended further west than the timber revetments. A stone-lined drain was constructed to lead water from the area behind the wall into the river. The water flowing out of the drain left a channel in the silts outside the wall, showing that the contemporary river level was not high enough for the wall to have functioned as a quay at low tide if not also at high tide. The pottery recovered indicated that the wall was of later 14th- or early 15th-century date.

Phase 6
A second wall which survived poorly appears to have been a further attempt to reclaim more land from the river. This wall dated to between the 15th and late 16th/early 17th centuries.

Finds
An important assemblage of 14th- and early 15th-century pottery was recovered. As well as large amounts of native products, pottery from France, Britain, Spain and the Low Countries is also included. Large numbers of medieval ceramic floor tiles, including a number of previously unrecorded types, also occurred. Organic finds such as leather, fabric and wood were also well represented. Metal finds included large numbers of copper alloy pins.

The animal bone assemblage appears to be one of the largest groups from the 14th/15th centuries to have been recovered.

Perhaps the most attractive object found was a gold finger ring of late 13th- or early 14th-century date. It was inscribed, in Lombardic script, 'ISSUE NASARENUS REX'.

14 Waterloo Road, Dublin 4