County: Dublin Site name: DUBLIN: 16-17 Cook St.
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Rosanne Meenan
Site type: Historic town
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 714826m, N 734126m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.344886, -6.275525
A trial trench was excavated here in advance of application for planning permission as the site is located on what may be ground reclaimed in the 13th century between the Town Wall and the River Liffey. The trench was 30m long and cm wide.
At the north end there was a deposit, 2.8m deep, of mortar, pantile, brick and rubble, This overlay a grey-brown silt layer, 1.1m deep, which in turn overlay a hard-packed boulder clay. The only dating evidence for the silt was two sherds of green-glazed medieval pottery.
A very thick east-west brick wall was uncovered in the trench c. 20m north of the Cook St frontage. South of that a different stratigraphy was exposed. A 900mm deposit of building rubble overlay a dark grey/brown silty clay layer 1.8m deep containing charcoal, mortar flecks and shell and lenses of coarse sand. A deposit of large stone blocks with mortar adhering was contained within this layer which was interpreted as a possible demolition deposit. Black compressed organic material containing wood chips and producing Ham Green pottery appeared at 2.7m below present ground level.
It is possible that Burnells' Inns, a late medieval house, may have been located at the frontage of this site on Cook St.
Roestown, Drumree, Co. Meath
