1996:071 - DALKEY: 59 Castle Street, Dublin

Archaeological assessment of the site to the rear of 59 Castle Street, Dalkey, was conducted on 5 and 6 June 1996 for Legcoll Ltd on behalf of Archaeological Development Services Ltd.

Two trial-trenches were excavated by mechanical excavator along the line of the foundation trenches for the proposed development.

Inspection of the exposed trench sections revealed that the plough-zone was a maximum of 0.6m above the undisturbed natural subsoil. Tillage farming over the years had disturbed the archaeological stratigraphy, and the small sherds of medieval pottery recovered from the upper ploughed soil were contaminated with fragments of later post-medieval pottery. One archaeological feature which survived this process was a U-shaped fosse or ditch. This 'ditch', the exposed section of which was oriented east-west, measured c. 2m at its greatest width and may have been of larger dimensions in antiquity. The organic deposits from the ditch fill contained medieval pottery, animal bone, seashell fragments and small amounts of well-preserved twigs and small branches.

This medieval feature is of importance as it may represent the southern extent of an old burgage plot. It is worth noting that the undisturbed natural soil on either side of the ditch was recorded at 24.96m OD to the south and 24.61m OD to the north. This difference in recorded level may further support the theory that this feature is a form of land or property boundary.

The medieval pottery recovered during the investigation may be dated to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The assemblage was composed of equal amounts of local and imported pottery.

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