County: Dublin Site name: DUBLIN: St Mary’s Abbey
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E0985
Author: Helen Kehoe
Site type: Historic town
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 715247m, N 734366m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.346950, -6.269119
An assessment was carried out at a site proposed for redevelopment. It covers a north–south central block which is bounded on its northern perimeter by St Mary’s Abbey and by Little Strand Street to the south, and is west of Capel Street.
The site lies to the south of the probable location of St Mary’s Abbey, a Savigniac foundation of 1139 which became a Cistercian house in 1147. The site of the abbey buildings was close to the high-water shoreline of the Liffey and east of the River Bradogue, in an area now bounded by Arran Street East (formerly Boot Lane), Little Mary Street, Capel Street and Mary’s Abbey.
The trenches opened on the Mary’s Abbey frontage were generally similar in stratigraphy and composition. It appears that the area directly adjacent to the street frontage had basement remains up to 6–7m southwards from the street line and approximately 2.2m deep. The deposits within and adjacent to the basement walls were very loose and prone to shelving and were composed mainly of introduced infill stone and red brick demolition rubble. The top of the basement wall remains were close to the present ground level and were built over the natural boulder material, indicating that any previous earlier deposits were removed during their construction.
Trenches to the south, near Little Strand Street, were similar in stratigraphy and were filled with post-medieval demolition deposits with some modern inclusions. The infill deposits lay directly over a 0.3–0.4m layer of soft sticky grey/black silt. Examination of small sections of this deposit revealed very few inclusions and no datable evidence. It may be interpreted as natural river silts from the rivers Liffey and Bradogue or as part of 18th/19th-century reclamation deposits.
There was no evidence for any significant archaeological deposits or structures within the trenches opened. The overall conclusion suggests that the area has been subject to extensive development, clearance and infilling.
11 Norseman Place, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7
