County: Dublin Site name: THE ROYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY, Simmonscourt Road, Ballsbridge
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0016
Author: Malachy Conway, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 718225m, N 732226m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.327074, -6.225209
An archaeological assessment followed by a stage of archaeological monitoring took place at the site of the proposed Four Seasons Hotel at the Royal Dublin Society at the corner of Merrion Road and Simmonscourt Road, Dublin 4. The assessment was carried out on 14–15 January 1998, and monitoring of groundworks was undertaken from 6 to 26 May 1998.
Both the assessment and monitoring episodes failed to reveal soils, features or deposits of archaeological potential. The initial stage of monitoring, along the Merrion Road side, revealed several post-medieval or early modern features, including red brick wall foundations and dump deposits comprising slag, cinder, iron fragments, patterned ceramics, glass bottles and butchered animal bone.
Three post-medieval features were uncovered in the northern corner of the eastern portion of the development area fronting onto Merrion Road. F1, 0.65m east of the north-west corner of the development area, consisted of a flat-based feature 0.5m wide and 0.68m deep, filled with black, humic soil containing a sherd of blackware. F2, 4m east from F1, was a large trench-like feature 1.8m wide and 1.7m deep containing red brick rubble and fragments of iron. F3, 3m east of F2, comprised a wall foundation of a structure (fronting onto Merrion Road) 2.7m wide and surviving to 0.65m high (situated c. 0.68m below old ground level). The wall foundations were constructed of red and occasionally yellow brick and were on average 0.35m wide and 0.65m high.
A large area comprising 19th- and early 20th-century waste was revealed within the eastern half of the development area. The deposit measured at least 25m north-south by 35m and was up to 2m deep. It seems likely that gravel quarrying had taken place in this area, which ultimately led to the filling in of the quarry pit(s) with locally generated domestic waste.
Ground reduction works within the south-west and south-east areas of the development did not reveal features, soils or artefacts of archaeological significance. There was a notable fall off in the number and quantity of post-medieval or early modern features, with the exception of modern drainage channels.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
