County: Dublin Site name: SWORDS: The Pound Licensed Premises, Bridge St.
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: D.L. Swan, Arch-Tech
Site type: Castle - Anglo-Norman masonry castle
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 718099m, N 746940m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.459270, -6.221596
In accordance with an order made by An Bord Pleanála, the developer of the above premises was required to facilitate the relevant authorities in the monitoring of foundation trenching and the laying of utility services.
On the 17th July, 1992, work commenced with the removal of a store along the southern boundary of the site beneath the outer face of the castle wall and with the opening of a trench (Trench A) along the northern boundary.
Trench A:
This trench was mechanically cleared to an average width of 0.9m, and to a depth of approximately 0.8m. The fill was very disturbed to a depth over 0.7m, at which level both brick fragments and some crock-ware were recovered. Towards the centre of the trench, the undisturbed natural appeared, directly underlying the disturbed fill.
No archaeological features were identified in this trench.
Trench B:
Was cut from the outer face of the east wall of the premises, parallel to Trench A.
At an average depth of 0.55m to 0.6m, the machine cut into what appeared to be natural gravel deposits, quite sterile and in a matrix of dark, heavy clay rather than sand. At 2.25m from the west end of the trench, and at a depth of 0.65m, a fragment of green-glazed medieval pottery was recovered.
Trench C:
Trench C extends for the full length of the eastern boundary of the proposed structure at right angles to the castle wall. At the southern end of this cutting, the much degraded upper surface of the limestone bedrock appears at a depth of approximately 0.75m, with evidence of modern disturbance at every level. At a distance of 3.7m from the southern end of the cutting, the natural limestone beds sloped away markedly, revealing what was to prove to be the cut of a large ditch. The line of the fill of this feature was clearly apparent. The inner edge of the ditch was located at a point 2.2m from the northern end of the cutting, allowing a total width of the feature of about 4.5m. It was set at a distance of about 2.2m from base of the outer face of the castle wall, and appears to have been cut steeply into the solid rock. A number of sherds of medieval pottery were recovered from the fill. There can be little doubt that this represents the moat ditch, which had previously been located outside the face of the west wall by resistivity survey.
Thus, it is likely, that at some period in the past, the outer face of the castle wall was encircled by a substantial moat ditch, which still survives today, and which, if archaeologically cleared, must shed a great deal of light on the early and subsequent development of the castle itself.
32 Fitzwilliam Pl., Dublin 2
