2002:0544 - DUBLIN: Harmony Row, Dublin

Planning permission was sought for the development of an office with part-basement in Harmony Row. The site was vacant and being used as an overflow carpark for a nearby hotel. Buildings were shown on the site on the first-edition (1837) OS map. On John Rocque’s map (1756) the area was depicted as being used for cultivation, divided into lots.

Six trenches were excavated on the footprint of the proposed foundations of the development, to a general depth of 2m. Grey clay was recorded at the base of the trenches at an average depth of 1.8–2.4m (4.734–5.369m OD). A black silty layer was recorded overlying the grey clay in all of the trenches except Trench 3. Finds of clay-pipe stems, early modern glass, sherds of stoneware, occasional oyster shells and very occasional animal bone were recorded in the layer. These inclusions suggest that it is of late 18th-/19th-century date. It possibly comprises the 18th-century garden or cultivation horizon represented on John Rocque’s map. A layer of mixed rubble, brick, clay, mortar and stone was recorded overlying the black silty clay in all of the trenches. This layer, 0.6–1.6m deep, was generally deeper in the northern portion of the site and possibly represents the demolition of the 19th-century buildings that occupied the site. The upper layer in all of the trenches was a mix of modern hardcore and concrete.

3 Canal Place, Tralee, Co. Kerry