1996:097 - DUBLIN: Tailors' Hall, High Street, Dublin

Archaeological monitoring and excavation were carried out on a site at Dublin Tailors' Hall, High Street, between 27 June and 8 July 1996. The site lies to the east of Tailors' Hall, an early eighteenth-century building, and is within the medieval walled town of Dublin. It fronts onto the medieval High Street towards Rochelle/Rupelle Street to the south. Previous excavations beneath the road to the north-east of the site located the remains of habitation dating from the late tenth century onwards.

During the watching brief a series of walls and archaeological soils were recorded to a depth of 1.6m below present ground level. A small excavation (4.4m east-west at the southern end, widening to 5.5m at the northern end, and 6m north-south) was carried out on the site to the east of Tailors' Hall fronting onto High Street. The site was bounded on the south and west by the existing Tailors' Hall. The foundations of solid limestone walls were identified along the south, east and west sides of the site.

The earliest phase of activity on the site was represented by a grey clay/silt deposit which produced a quantity of medieval pottery, including local wares. This deposit was revealed across the site and averaged 0.5m in depth; it overlay a black compact material, at least 0.4m deep, which contained similar medieval pottery and a polished, unperforated bone point.

A series of walls which formed the southern end of a small structure measuring internally 3.5m east-west and 3.8m north-south were revealed. The walls were constructed of large uncut limestone blocks and survived to a height of between 0.6m and 1.6m. One of the walls (F2) was orientated north-south, forming the western boundary of the site, and measured 0.6m wide by 0.9m high. The wall was mortared at a lower level, while the upper level was bonded by a gritty yellow mortar suggesting rebuilding at some date. At the lowest level, at the southern end, the wall appeared to have been built on a series of large foundation limestone blocks which projected beyond the line of the wall.

Removal of wall F2 allowed inspection of the lower wall(F4), which was orientated east-west and formed the southern boundary of the site. It was 0.7m thick, constructed of large uncut limestone blocks, and survived to a height of 0.6m at the western end. The lower course of this wall extended for 0.4m to wall F8 and wall F2.

Wall F3 was orientated north-south and formed the eastern boundary of the site. It measured 0.5m wide and survived to a height of 1.6m at the southern end. It was constructed of small, irregular-sized, rounded stones interspersed with larger uncut limestone. At the extreme southern end it abutted wall F4, postdating it. The western end of wall F4 was underpinned with orange/red brick to a depth of 0.6m. On the west side of this a small wall was revealed, orientated north-south, forming a rectangular recess. A deep orange cindery deposit with ash lenses was identified in this area, representing a kiln or burning area staining the soil. The deposit was 1.3m deep and contained fragments of timber, bone, slate and ash lenses. In addition, the deposit produced brownware stems of clay pipes of eighteenth-century date.

The base of the east wall of Tailors' Hall (F8) abutted the upper level of wall F2 but had a deeper foundation, to a depth of 0.7m. Wall F8 is constructed of orange/red brick similar in fabric to the upstanding building. An earlier trench appears to have been cut during the construction of the Tailors' Hall in the eighteenth century, suggested by the presence of a demolished east-west wall, F9, constructed of orange/red brick. Wall F9 appears to be contemporary with wall F8.

The excavation of post-medieval material uncovered a blackstone wall (F12) extending east to west for 1.8m. It survives to a height of 1.55m on the east and 1.1m on the west and is 0.45m thick. It is built of rectangular blackstone with red brick inclusions and abutted a wall on its eastern end, most of which was demolished or collapsed. A small portion of a blacksrone wall was recorded 3.5m west of the north-south face of F12. The limit of site clearance was reached at this junction. A series of post-medieval scrap and reused timbers extended out diagonally from underneath F12 and abutted the wall junction for 2.6m. The side of one timber piece was inset with red brick, perhaps forming part of a roughly constructed drainage channel.

On removal of walls F2, F3 and F4 and a grey/clay silt deposit, more medieval pottery was produced. A series of four small trenches were cut into F11. These measured 0.8m long by 0.8m wide and were excavated to a depth of 0.3m. Three of the trenches were cut at intervals along the north-south site boundary where wall F3 had stood. The fourth trench was cutinto the south-west corner where wall F2 had been built. The artefacts retrieved during the excavation/monitoring included mainly medieval and post-medieval pottery (322 sherds in total) with inclusions of tiles (9); glass (6); one bone pin; slate (5); and leather (3).

Rath House, Ferndale Rd, Rathmichael, Co. Dublin