1999:404 - MAYNOOTH: The Roost Bar, Leinster Street, Kildare

Archaeological testing was carried out at the Roost Bar, Leinster Street, Maynooth, from 26 April to 3 May 1999 to supply additional information about the nature of any archaeology present on the site in accordance with recommendations from the County Council. Two test-trenches, one with lateral extensions, were excavated at the site.

Test-trench 1 was positioned in the western area of the site of proposed development and was c. 11.8m long on an east-west axis x 1.4m (maximum) wide. Beneath modern rubble and concrete was a layer of bitumen that had burning on its uppermost surface. There were also the remains of black pitch and redeposited, red, natural clay. The remains of a pit, filled with iron objects such as horseshoes, door hinges, nails and bolts, were uncovered at the centre of the test-trench. The bottom of the test-trench was composed of natural deposits of red clay. Beneath this lay a natural deposit of grey clay.

The remains of a stone wall were uncovered in the middle of Test-trench 1. It ran along a north-west/south-east axis and was uncovered immediately beneath the concrete and rubble. Only the northern-facing surface was exposed. The wall was constructed on a stone foundation and was a maximum of 4.8m long (including the projection of the wall in that area of the site where it had been destroyed by the erection of a modern concrete pillar), 0.4m thick and 0.4m deep. Because of the presence of a substantial amount of mortar on its exposed surface, it was not possible to determine how many courses it contained.

The northern extension of Test-trench 1 was c. 3m long x 0.75m (maximum) wide. The extension was only partially excavated, and only the modern concrete and its associated rubble were uncovered. No archaeological features were revealed.

The southern extension of Test-trench 1 was c. 4m long x 0.8m (maximum) wide. It was only partially excavated and was made up of modern concrete with associated rubble and concrete foundation. A layer of bitumen lay directly beneath the concrete foundation.

The only archaeological feature uncovered in this area was the remains of a wood-lined stone trough/drain. This feature on its northern side consisted of one stone lying on its side. This stone was c. 0.3m deep and 0.1m thick. The southern side of the trough/drain was partially destroyed, but one stone, c. 0.1m deep, was still preserved. The remains of an internal lining of wood were uncovered. The base of the stone trough/drain was made up of hard bitumen. A large quantity of rusted iron objects was uncovered during the excavation of the fill of the trough/drain. According to local information, there had been a blacksmith's forge next door to the site until quite recently. It would seem highly likely that the iron objects uncovered in the fill of the trough/drain are the waste materials from this metalworking process.

Test-trench 2 was positioned in the eastern area of the site of proposed development and was c. 9.6m long on an east-west axis x 0.65m. Test-trench 2 was also made up of a layer of modern concrete that lay immediately above a layer of rubble stone and concrete pieces. At the western extremity the test-trench was composed of four layers of soil of varying colours, which sealed the remains of a wall. This was uncovered immediately beneath the modern concrete at the extreme northern end of the trench and was only excavated to 0.4m deep, the depth of a cobble surface/floor. Three courses of the wall were exposed. The cobble surface/floor was uncovered throughout the entire length of the trench. The cobblestones were on average less than 0.1m long, and it is clear that they were laid down in a deliberate manner.

One large sherd of early modern pottery was uncovered in Test-trench 2, in a disturbed context. In addition, a large range of modern pottery, glass, red brick fragments, bottles and pieces of mortar and an assortment of metal objects were uncovered in this trench.

32 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2