1994:046 - CHAPELIZOD: Martin's Row, Dublin

Trial trenching carried out in 1992 at Leitrim Lodge 'Market Garden' revealed a 13th–14th-century ditch and two burials which had been cut by the ditch (Excavations 1992, 15). This work was carried out in advance of the proposed construction of two workshops on the site. The results necessitated the relocation of one of the proposed workshops and further trenching was carried out early in 1993 at the west end of the enclosed market garden (Excavations 1993, 13). This area was free of any archaeological deposits.

In 1994, following an appeal to An Bord Pleanála, permission to demolish Leitrim Lodge was rescinded and another alternative was proposed for the second workshop. This fourth site was located in the centre of the garden beside the Phoenix Park wall. Two trenches were dug to a depth of 1.65m–1.7m. This area did not have any archaeoligical structures and consisted of three layers of garden soils and one pit overlying natural clays. The finds could be dated from the late 17th century to the present day.

The upper three layers and the pit had large amounts of white crockery, bottle fragments and a glass bowl fragment, a blue paste bead, iron objects, clay pipe stems and one clay pipe bowl stamped L, transfer printed blue wares of 18th-/19th-century date, red crock, dairy wares, 18th-century black storage vessel sherds and 19th-century stone ware. Some earlier material recovered included a late 17th-century fragment of a Bellarmine jar, mottled ware sherd dating to the late 17th or early 18th century, one sherd of gravel tempered ware also dating to the 17th-18th century, a small piece of worked bronze and a fragmentary bronze pin (a shroud pin?). The lowest level of grey soil had few finds although one piece of red ware would indicate that it is also post-medieval in date. Animal bones were found in all layers and one adult human thoracic vertebra was recovered from the yellow clay. The occurence of a human bone among the animal bones is not particularly surprising as previous excavation shows that the medieval graveyard extends into the Market Garden.

Skidoo, Ballyboughal, Co. Dublin