1998:172 - DUBLIN: 189–194 King Street North, Dublin

The site lies at the eastern end of North King Street, on the southern side of the street, and extends along Halston Street and Green Street. Known originally as Abbey Green, 1558 is the first recorded usage of that name. The monastic buildings of St Mary's Abbey occupied an area bounded by Capel Street on the east, East Arran Street on the west, Little Mary Street on the north and the street called St Mary's Abbey. The wall surrounding St Mary's Abbey was encircled by a stream of water diverted into small rivulets. The River Bradogue ran on the west side, from which a branch appears to have entered the grounds on the north side, at about the present North King Street.

In the early 18th century land on the northern end of the Green was put aside to build a church and the decision was taken to cover in the river Bradogue. On Rocque's map of 1756 Green Street is called Little Green and the portion granted for the church is walled in. By the time of Rocque's map the present street pattern had been established and the medieval market place had moved northwards to the site of what is now St Michan's Park.

The site is currently owned by Dublin Corporation and is designated for a new community resource centre. Two phases of archaeological assessment were carried out on the site, pre- and post-demolition. A limited excavation was then carried out to facilitate some engineering test-pits. The initial assessment began on 19 March 1998. Two trenches were excavated and revealed disarticulated skeletal material overlying in situ extended skeletons, c. 1m below present ground level. Standing buildings, which have subsequently been demolished, then covered most of the rest of the site. On 8 September 1998 a further four trenches were excavated, which revealed in situ articulated skeletons across the site.

The site appears to be a burial-ground. The assessments revealed in situ articulated skeletons overlain by a rubble fill layer containing disarticulated human bone. Articulated skeletal material lies directly below a layer of rubble and overburden, at its shallowest c. 0.7m below present ground level and at its deepest c. 2.2m. Within the rubble layer is a large quantity of disarticulated human remains. The burials consist of adult male and female burials and infant burials. All are buried in an east-west direction, apart from two infant burials that were buried roughly north-south and lay just inside the site at the Green Street side.

A limited archaeological excavation was conducted in the autumn of 1998. The excavations revealed eighteen fully articulated skeletons. The skeletons consist of male and female adults and some children. Initial examination dates them to the late 17th/early 18th century. The site was once home to the city's gallows and is also close to the Debtor's Prison and other penal institutions that were in the area.

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