1994:054 - DUBLIN: St Vincent de Paul Night Shelter, Back Lane, Dublin

The site is located at the southern corner formed by the junction of Back Lane and Nicholas St., immediately inside the line of the city wall. Previous archaeological testing at the site, conducted by Michael Tierney in April/May 1993, uncovered post-medieval and possible medieval features. It was concluded that the top of the archaeological deposits varied between c. 0.5m–c.1.8m below the present ground level (pers. comm.).

Planning permission for an extension to, and refurbishment of, the existing building was granted subject to seven conditions. Two of these dealt specifically with the archaeological potential of the site.

Monitoring of service trench excavations was conducted from February 2–15, 1994. Three trenches were opened to enable existing gas and water services to be re-routed prior to the demolition of the eastern wing of the Night Shelter. The average width of the trenches was 0.5m, with an average depth of 0.6m. Only one of these trenches, Tr. 1, contained features of any archaeological interest, namely a drain with an associated surface and two red-brick walls. No material was recovered from these features but it is probable that all are post-medieval in date.

Monitoring of foundation trench excavations, associated with the construction of a new accommodation block, was carried out from March 2–12 1994, following the demolition of the original eastern wing of the Night Shelter. The original floor slab was removed and the levels across the majority of the area of re-development were reduced by 0.4m. The pile-cap/ground-beam trenches, with an average width of 1.2m and a depth ranging from 0.1m–1.4m, were excavated by machine. The laying of a concrete skim along the base of all the trenches was also conducted under the supervision of the writer. In general, the upper fill of all the excavated trenches consisted of dense concentrations of modern rubble. This material was probably associated with the original construction of the Night Shelter. The lower fills of the trenches, in general, consisted of various concentrations of clay and brick, possibly associated with earlier cellars. The basal fills of the deeper trenches consisted of dark brown silty-clay. This material was quite sterile in nature and may be the remains of a 'garden-soil'. No features of archaeological significance were uncovered. However, five sherds of medieval pottery were recovered, all from the upper 'modern' fills.

Following the demolition of the original extension, the debris was removed from the site with the aid of a 'tracked' machine. During this process the weight of the machine caused a small area of the site to subside, revealing a well. This feature was roughly circular in plan, with dimensions of 2m x 1.8m. The uppermost course was uncovered at 2.44m (11.73m OD) below the ground surface, and there was some evidence to indicate that some of the wall had been robbed, possibly early this century. The feature was not further investigated but sealed for some future archaeological examination.

19 Monread Gdns., Naas, Co. Kildare