County: Dublin Site name: DUBLIN: The Mater Hospital, North Circular Road
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 02E0960
Author: Linzi Simpson, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Burial
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 715516m, N 735814m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.359905, -6.264553
The assessment was carried out in the grounds of the Mater Hospital, on the North Circular Road side, after human bones were found during the excavation of an engineering test-pit against the base of a 19th-century limestone wall. The hospital was opened by the Sisters of Mercy in 1852 and is now one of the largest hospitals in Dublin. The remains were dated by ceramic evidence to the 19th century and consisted of long bones, at least two of which were sawn (suggesting that they were associated with the hospital). Three test-pits were then excavated along the base of the wall, each of which revealed additional bones, some of which were also sawn. Their location, however, was confined to the foundation trench of the wall, suggesting that they were dumped when the wall was under construction. Although the bones may have been the result of anatomical studies, they appeared to be mostly limbs and digits, which may suggest that they were the result of amputations.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
