County: Dublin Site name: KILMAINHAM: Nestlé Factory Site, Inchicore Road/South Circular Road
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 00E0183
Author: Ian W. Doyle, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 712612m, N 733819m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.342605, -6.308861
Archaeological testing was carried out within the grounds of the existing Nestlé factory site at the intersection of Inchicore Road and South Circular Road, opposite Kilmainham Jail. A mix of modern industrial buildings and carparking areas currently occupies the site, which is approximately 20m to the west of the historic Bully’s Acre cemetery. The Kilmainham area is noted for the presence of Viking Age artefacts recovered during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The main Galway–Dublin railway line defines the northern boundary of the Nestlé site, while a gravel extraction pit is shown to the east of the site on the 1832–42 OS map.
Three trenches were excavated by machine in April 2000. The scale of the testing was restricted by the continued occupation of the site and the presence of live services. Trench 1, located on a lawn in the north-eastern part of the site, revealed a series of modern backfill deposits, most likely associated with gravel extraction. These deposits were found to be as deep as 2.8m below present ground level. Trench 2 was located in the northern part of the site. A reinforced concrete floor slab from demolished factory buildings was revealed in this trench. This was removed in places to reveal a brown, stony clay, which overlay natural subsoil. Trench 3, in the extreme north of the site, revealed a reinforced concrete slab. This slab was not penetrated.
As the developers are considering a basement carpark, further archaeological testing was recommended following demolition of the existing factory buildings.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
