County: Dublin Site name: SWORDS: 7 North Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 95E0243
Author: Margaret Gowen
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 718125m, N 746023m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.451029, -6.221549
An archaeological assessment was carried out on a site at 7 North Street, Swords, on 25th January 1996 to fulfil a condition of the planning approval for the scheme. The site is located to the south-east of the medieval castle of Swords, with the curtain-wall of the castle forming the western boundary. It lies to the rear of a renovated building, now a shop.
The site measured 5.5m north-south and 7.7m east-west, and was covered by a concrete slab 0.3m deep. The assessment was based on the excavation of two trenches opened by ‘mini’-excavator; one was opened across the site and the other was located in the eastern corner.
The archaeological assessment revealed no evidence for any fosse or moat surrounding the castle on this side (Rocque’s map of 1760 indicates the presence of street-front properties in this location). The old ground level did not survive and appeared to have been significantly reduced at some date. The concrete slab sat directly on undisturbed clay, with no evidence for any accumulation of archaeologically enriched soils.
The castle wall was protected by the concrete boundary wall of the property. No archaeological features or deposits were encountered during the assessment and there were no archaeological implications for the development of this site.
Rath House, Ferndale Rd. Rathmichael, Co. Dublin
