County: Dublin Site name: DUBLIN: College Street/Westmoreland Street/ Fleet Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 96E276ext.
Author: Judith Carroll
Site type: Ecclesiastical site
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 715971m, N 734239m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.345651, -6.258285
Archaeological trial-trenching took place between 25 February and 12 March 1997. This was Phase 1 of the two phases of trial-trenching planned for the site. It took place before demolition, while Phase 2 will take place after demolition.
The purpose of this initial trenching was to get a general idea of the depth, extent and (as far as possible) nature of the archaeological stratigraphy on the site. Because of the heavily concreted cellar floors, high water-table and restrictions of access, only five trenches were opened.
A historical/archaeological paper survey was compiled in September 1996. This shows that medieval tiles, now in the NMI, were found during the building of the Provincial Bank (now the AIB building), College Street, in 1862. A rubbing of the pavement of tiles is now in the Royal Irish Academy. The fact that these tiles were in situ when the rubbing was made suggests that there was an important medieval building on the spot. The tiles have comparisons only in castle and major ecclesiastical buildings of medieval date (Eames, E.S. and Fanning, T., Irish medieval tiles (Dublin, 1988), 89).
The evidence from Trench 1 suggests that the eastern part of the site may have been a cesspit area, though a revetment wall could have run across this area.
The stratigraphy in Trenches 2 and 3 indicates that the northern half of the site was likely to have been under water or on an uninhabitable area of the shore up to the late 17th century, but Trenches 4 and 5 on the southern half of the site indicate that most of this area may have archaeological potential.
30 Ramleh Park, Milltown, Dublin 6
