County: Dublin Site name: DALKEY: 59 Castle Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 97E0297
Author: Cia Mc Conway, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Earthwork
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 726223m, N 726927m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.277633, -6.107316
The site is a long, narrow area of land, 110m north-south by 30m east-west, to the rear of 59 Castle Street. A derelict building fronts onto Castle Street, while Archbold's Castle, a 16th-century, three-storey granite tower, lies to the immediate east of the site, also fronting onto the street. The assessment was carried out prior to a proposed residential development.
Two trenches were mechanically excavated in a north-south direction, to the top of in situ archaeological deposits, one on either side of Declan Murtagh's Trench A (Excavations 1996, 18, 96E297). In Trench 1 a large linear feature, over 2.5m wide, cut through the subsoil in an east-west direction. Although not excavated, it had an upper fill of grey/brown clayey soil with charcoal and shell flecks. The size and nature of this feature suggests a fosse, possibly the continuation of the one uncovered by Murtagh in Trench A. There was no trace of an associated bank.
In Trench 2, along the northern edge, an irregular patch of charcoal- and shell-flecked grey/brown soil ran into the western baulk. One piece of medieval pottery, dating from the 13th/14th century, was recovered from its upper surface. South of this, a narrow, linear feature about 1m wide was uncovered, running in an east-west direction, cutting the natural subsoil. A sherd of medieval pottery, charcoal flecks and crushed shell all lay within the upper fill-a grey/brown clayey soil. Its location in relation to the fosse uncovered in Trenches 1 and A would suggest a continuation of this, though its somewhat diminished width would indicate the nearing of a terminal.
A large linear feature, 3.3m wide, ran east-west, cutting through the natural subsoil along the southern area of the trench. The upper fill consisted primarily of a charcoal- and shell-flecked grey/brown silty clay. Organic material-shell and small twigs-was observed within a black, peat-like soil which lay along the northern edge of the feature. Again the size and nature of this feature suggest a fosse, with no visible associated bank.
It is possible that the fosse uncovered in Trenches 1, 2 and A may represent the southern extent of an old burgage plot, though its location may suggest an association with Archbold's Castle or the documented enclosed medieval town, possibly as a defensive earthwork. The larger feature located to the south of Trench 2 flags the location of a second, larger fosse, though the exact relationship between the two remains unclear.
Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Fairview, Dublin 3
