County: Dublin Site name: DUBLIN: 6–11 Kevin Street Lower
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 97E0090
Author: Cia Mc Conway, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Town defences and Shambles
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 715438m, N 733295m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.337290, -6.266643
Three trenches were excavated, Trench 1 at the corner of Church Lane South and Kevin Street Lower and Trenches 2 and 3 at the south of the site, to the west of and running parallel to Liberty Lane. The area lies just within the zone of archaeological potential. The excavation was carried out in advance of a residential and retail development.
A medieval ground surface was uncovered in all three trenches, though extensive post-medieval activity had destroyed most of this in Trench 1. A substantial ditch was uncovered running east-west in Trench 1 and dating from the early medieval period, as suggested by the pottery recovered from its basal fill. It measured 2.34m wide and 0.84m deep, with fairly steep sides and a wide, flat base. There was evidence that the ditch had been recut. The later post-medieval activity had removed all evidence for a bank, though it is likely that the ditch enclosed an area to its north, as the medieval town of Dublin only extended this far south. It is possible that the ditch was the remains of the town's southern defences as recorded in the historical documents.
Throughout the medieval and post-medieval periods the site mostly remained clear of structures, and evidence from Trench 3 shows that the area was ploughed in the earlier part of the post-medieval period. Linear features-substantial gullies-were recorded running north-south in Trenches 2 and 3, and probably illustrate the property boundaries associated with buildings fronting onto Kevin Street. The gullies are in line with the projected boundary between Nos 6 and 7 Kevin Street.
During the post-medieval period there is evidence for a market/slaughterhouse and a foundry in the area. Two east-west gullies were recorded in Trench 2, both packed with butchered animal bone (ox and sheep). Such a noxious activity would generally have been kept to the outskirts of a town. Likewise a large pit filled with cinder and slag suggests the proximity of a foundry.
Other pits uncovered were general post-medieval rubbish-pits, producing a wide range of broken and discarded occupation debris.
Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Fairview, Dublin 3
