County: Dublin Site name: HOLY FAITH CONVENT, Finglas
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 95E0100ext.
Author: Eoin Halpin, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 711916m, N 739112m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.390296, -6.317445
This assessment was carried out on 15 July 1997 as a follow-up to an assessment undertaken in late May 1995 (Excavations 1995, 24–5). The results of that first phase of work highlighted a number of archaeological areas of potential within the proposed development area, and further work was required to address specific questions.
Four further trenches were machine-excavated. The first was in the north-west corner, where during the first assessment a possible ditch feature was uncovered. The second was located to the north of the upstanding buildings, where it had been impossible to assess before. Two trenches were located immediately to the west of the upstanding buildings, where it is intended to extend them.
The results of this and the earlier phase of testing point to the presence of at least two areas of archaeological significance and one area of archaeological potential. The first significant area is in the south-west of the development, parallel to the line of Church Road. Here in 1995 the remains of a rectangular building were uncovered, the walls of which appeared to be associated with the remains of an occupation deposit containing sherds of medieval pottery. The building had at least one internal division and the remains of at least one other occupation deposit which suggests phasing within the structure. The conclusion of the 1995 assessment that this might represent outbuildings associated with the medieval manor house still seems the most likely interpretation.
The series of pits and/or ditches uncovered in the north-west corner of the site represent the second significant area of archaeology. It was impossible during this assessment to follow the line of the ditch uncovered in 1995. However, the fact that a similar feature was found some 6m to the south suggests that the feature is linear and therefore possibly a ditch. The other features uncovered, while they may also be ditches, are more likely to be pits. Groups of pits and ditches or gullies are common occurrences, particularly in medieval archaeological landscapes. The ditches usually represent land divisions or drainage gullies, while the pits, since they are often found full of organic matter, are interpreted as refuse-pits.
The area of potential archaeology was uncovered to the north of the upstanding convent buildings. The main feature, which consisted of compacted natural gently sloping down to a depth of some 3m, may represent a ditch which has been cut through at an acute angle by the test-trench. However, it is also possible that this feature is a product of a natural variation in subsoil. Some further work was recommended to resolve this outstanding problem.
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