1993:075 - DUBLIN: Meeting House, Sycamore St./East Essex St., Dublin

The archaeological assessment was carried out in order to fulfil a condition of the planning decision for the development of the Gallery of Photography, National Photographic Archive and the Sycamore St. development. It has been an open-air car park with access onto Sycamore St. for the past few years, and lies just to the north of the new Irish Film Centre. The site is thought to have been on the eastern bank of the river Poddle estuary.

Preliminary examination of four engineering test pits early in 1993 indicated the presence of deep deposits of archaeologically enriched silts in the area. It was assumed, prior to examination of the test pits, that this area lay some distance to the east of the Poddle estuary, as indicated on Clarke's map (1978) and that it was first developed in the 17th century. Basal material examined from the engineering test pits, however, was found to date from the 13th century.

Four mechanically excavated 1.2m wide (bucket-width) test trenches were opened, two running east-west across the square- as close to the proposed new buildings as possible in the circumstances, one north-south trench at the north of the location on the site of the proposed National Photographic Archive and a further short trench extending westwards out from the back of the Meeting House.

While these recorded the nature of the silt fill in the area, it was impossible to assess the original topography of the site from them. The silt contained bone and shell inclusions but there was no trace of in situ habitation material or structures.

The east-west trench profiles exposed the level of the original undisturbed stony clay subsoil, revealing some timber posts and horizontal planks, as well as a subsequent build-up of silt deposits. These included estuarine mud and silt in what appears to be an old watercourse running north-eastwards across the southern and eastern sides of the site and a single 0.3m - 0.5m layer of archaeologically enriched organic silt in which the timbers and posts were revealed.

The north-south trench, towards Essex St, revealed a very deep build-up of both sterile and archaeologically enriched silts overlying gravelly clay and rock in an area that may represent an old Liffey shoreline.

At the east side of the site, adjacent to the back of the Meeting House, black silt was found to a depth of c. 5m filling what appears to be an old watercourse. It was approximately 3m wide.

The archaeological activity on the site appears to date to the 13th century or thereabouts, after which the area appears to have silted over and lain unused until the area was reclaimed in the 18th century. The timbers revealed, set in clays at the southern side of the square, date to just one period of activity, dated by dendrochronology to 1325+25 AD. Those recovered at the north of the site are substantial, squared timbers which have a structural function and are now thought to represent remains of a water mill. Other activity in the area, apparently commenced during the 13th century, may simply have consisted of the construction of fish-traps, and landing stages for small watercraft.

The evidence for medieval activity in the area was such that a more structured archaeological study was considered necessary. Archaeological excavation under the direction of Martin Reid took place in December 1993 and January 1994 on the site of the Gallery of Photography and the National Photographic Archive.

Ref. - see No. 76, Excavations 1993

Rath House, Ferndale Rd, Rathmichael, Co. Dublin