1993:087 - DUBLIN: The, Dublin

The 'West End' or Western Sector of Temple Bar lies between Parliament St., Essex Quay, Fishamble St. and Copper Alley. It embraces the north-eastern corner of the early, 10th-/11th-century Hiberno-Viking town and the slightly larger medieval walled city. It is entered from the main artery of Temple Bar along East Essex St. through Essex Gate on the medieval city wall.

A comprehensive assessment of seven sites within the "West End" of Temple Bar was undertaken in May and June of 1993. The results of this survey provide baseline data on the location, levels, thickness and relative wealth of archaeological deposits on the individual sites. It is probably not necessary to stress that the redevelopment of this 'block' may provide a unique and very rare opportunity to prepare a coherent and integrated archaeological excavation programme in which specific archaeological research issues may be targeted.

The study forms a framework from which more detailed study may be undertaken, as necessary. The scale of additional survey/assessment work required depends on the nature of the proposed foundation design within individual projects.

In recent years, archaeological assessment of some of the sites in this area, carried out for planning purposes, commenced in 1989/90 with the introduction of Tax Incentive-related development.

This survey commenced on 8th May 1993 and was completed by the 20th June. It was a two-phase exercise involving:

Phase 1: Mechanical excavation of long slit trenches through rubble fill and overburden onto the surface of the surviving archaeology.
Purpose: To provide detailed cross-sectional profiles of the location and upper levels of archaeological deposits for engineering and architectural design purposes.

Phase 2: Trial borings in specific locations on sites not previously comprehensively tested.
Purpose: To assess the nature of the archaeological material and its thickness in locations not previously examined.

Site 1: Corporation car park, fronting onto Exchange St. Upr.
Site 2: Corporation car park, bounded by the western end of Essex St. West and Fishamble St.
Site 3: 8–10 Exchange St. Lr.
Site 4: Mobile Library park on Essex St. West.
Site 5: Kennan's Engineering Works on Fishamble St.
Site 6: Corporation car park bounded by Fishamble St. and the western end of Exchange St. Lr.
Site 7: Corporation car park, 18–24 Exchange St. Lower.

Site 1: Dublin Corporation car park on Exchange St. Lower.
This site had already been assessed by Alan Hayden in November 1990 (Excavations 1990, 30). The assessment was based on three trial borings and one test pit. The results of that assessment indicated that cellars existed in most of the areas tested and that the archaeological deposits on the site were both complex and very well-preserved. It also indicated that the Viking bank(s) might run across the extreme north of the site and that complex organic layers, representing successive levels of habitation, exist in varying thickness, all over the remainder of the site.

It was clear that the location of the trial borings and test pits might not reflect the true extent of basements on the site (suggesting that they might cover more of the site than they do) and the slit trenching, described below, confirmed this.

Summary
The results of the recent trenching confirmed the localised position of the basements along the Exchange St. Lr frontage, where they are over 3m deep but only 5-6m wide, and along the extreme south of the site where they run into Site 4 (the Mobile Library park, below).

Elsewhere the trenching revealed an extensive 'high spot' of surviving archaeological deposits extending to the west of the basements on Exchange St. (ie the south-western portion of the site). The uppermost levels of archaeological deposits exposed in this area appear to have no structural remains in them (the ubiquitous 'garden soil'). However, beneath these, at the lower levels, there exists at least 1.5m of very well-preserved, rich habitation material.

This is a very rich archaeological area with deposits generally 2.1m–2.7m thick.

Site 2: Dublin Corporation car park on Fishamble St. and Essex St. West
Like Site 1, this site was tested as part of the proposed Eurolodge development in November 1990 (Excavations 1990, 30). Three bore holes and two test pits were opened in this area. The boreholes both recorded cellars at the northern frontage of the site while the third, taken on the south-west corner, revealed rich archaeological deposits immediately below the hardcore of the present surface. All the boreholes indicated a sequence of well-preserved archaeological deposits.

Summary
The results of the recent trenching indicate that the cellars along Essex St. West are just 6–7m wide north-south and that behind these (ie. to the south) the entire site lies undisturbed beneath a 0.35–0.7m depth of fill and hardcore. The cellars had floors at different levels and occasionally the basement floor slab lay on undisturbed material. For instance, at the north-east corner, the basement floor slab lay at 1.8m below present ground level and undisturbed archaeological deposits were revealed just 0.2m below this.

The material exposed (ie. the upper surface of the surviving deposits) especially on the western and southern sides of the site, indicates intense habitation on the Fishamble St. frontage with less activity towards the eastern end of the site. Grey estuarine silt/mud at the north of the site could represent the position of the Viking 'mud bank(s)'.

This is a very rich archaeological area with deposits 2.1m–c. 3.2m thick.

Site 3: Dublin Corporation car park at 8-10 Exchange St. Lr
This site was not previously tested. Two trial boring were carried out and one slit trench was excavated to reveal the top of the archaeological layers. The soils recorded were relatively sterile organic silts.

Site 4: Dublin Corporation Mobile Libraries park at Essex St. West
Like Sites 1 and 2, this site was tested by Alan Hayden in November 1990. This early testing indicated that cellars probably existed across the Essex St. West frontage of the site, and this proved to be the case. The floor levels of the cellars/semi-basements varied considerably, however, lying some 1.3–1.8m and up to 3m below present ground level.

The top of archaeological material exposed was a friable clay and ash dating to the 17th century. Where this was removed it revealed a buff-grey clay in places (possible Viking bank?) and mixed clay soils which may be cultivated.

Summary
This is a strategically important site as the Viking bank (or sequence of several banks) may cross it east-west.

Site 5: Keenan's Engineering Works, Fishamble St.
This site had not been previously tested. Access was not entirely satisfactory since the site is currently laid out on three different levels. At the lowermost level behind the building on 21 Fishamble St. deep basements exist and the basement of that building is still open. Rich archaeological material occurs here some 2.5m–2.75m below present ground level. However, to the east of the basement, archaeological material exists immediately below the concrete slab floor. On the second mid-level, archaeological deposits were not reached. Fill over 2.6m deep occurred in this area. At the uppermost level (ie. just inside Copper Alley) cellars were 2.8m deep. Based on the results of trial borings, between 1.1m and 1.5m of the basal archaeological deposits appear to have survived beneath them. These are very rich organic habitation layers.

Summary
This is a very rich archaeological site. It has been pierced by very deep basements at its southern (Copper Alley) side and just c. 1m of rich archaeological deposits survive, but elsewhere, especially along the Fishamble St. frontage, the remains of a sequence of intense habitation levels, probably very similar to those excavated by Dr. Patrick Wallace on the Wood Quay side of Fishamble St., can be expected.

Site 6: Dublin Corporation car park on Exchange St. Lr and Fishamble St.
One trial boring examined in September 1989 indicated that a limited archaeological zone, represented by redeposited river silt, occurred on this site. The test trenching at the south of the site confirmed the stratigraphic sequence noted in the bore. Further excavation northwards, however, revealed (and in the process dislodged) the upper horizontal plank of a wooden revetment and a very rich deposit of well-preserved organic material which appears to have built up between the outside (riverfront side) of the revetment and the line of the 13th-century city wall.

Summary
This is a strategically important site. The wooden revetment appears to coincide with the line of the outermost revetment excavated by Dr. Patrick Wallace at Wood Quay.

Site 7: Dublin Corporation car park on Exchange St. Lr and Essex Quay and 'Hanahoe' site (Isolde's Tower)
This site was partially tested in January 1990 (Excavations 1990, 30)–the area available pre-demolition 1993. Two trial borings were examined and a small test pit was opened to establish the location of the 13th-century city wall. The areas tested by the boreholes on the southern portion of the site suggested that a limited sequence of rich organic deposits, possibly pre-dating the 13th-century city wall , exist to the east of the line of the wall.

Further testing recently carried out (May/June 1993) confirmed the position of the wall in two other locations and revealed the foundation of Isolde's Tower and the city wall to the west of it. It also established the basement floor levels on the western portion of the site (roughly 2.9–3m below present ground level throughout).

In the area of Isolde's Tower the basement level is 3.5–3.8m. Initial site clearance works revealed that only the basal foundations of the tower survived and that the remains might be in a poor structural condition. Further excavation under the direction of Linzi Simpson has slightly altered the original interpretation of the location of a possible Tudor-period blockhouse illustrated on Speed's map of 1610. (See No. 70, Excavations 1993).

Rath House, Ferndale Rd., Rathmichael, Co. Dublin