2002:0576 - DUBLIN: Ship Street Great, Dublin

The site is at the corner of Ship Street Great and Stephen Street Lower, on the northern side of the Woodchester building. Thus it lies outside the medieval walled town, in the Poddle valley, but close to the early, pre-Norman church of St Michael le Pole. The assessment revealed the remains of medieval clay deposits, which extended in a narrow band measuring 24m north–south by 2–5m and 0.6–0.98m deep. During excavation, however, the very truncated remains of a human skeleton (from the chest up) were unexpectedly found deep in the boulder clay, which, unfortunately, had been badly damaged by a cellar. This has been identified as a single male burial, in his mid- to late twenties (L. Buckley, pers. comm.), dated by a 14C determination to AD 690–775 (1 sigma, 68%) and AD 665–865 (2 sigma, 98%).

The burial was oriented west–east, with the head to the west, and was in a supine position within a cut in the boulder clay that was 0.2m deep. All that survived was the cranium (badly crushed), the left mandible, some of the cervical vertebrae and fragments of ribs. Parts of both scapulae were also present, as well as a fragment of the humerus. Of extreme interest was a group of five artefacts, four of which were found around the base of the skull, perhaps suggesting that they were originally worn around the neck. These included a glass bead, a silver finger ring, a small twisted silver ring and a corroded metal disc. The fifth item was a corroded iron object found in the boulder clay 0.5m to the south of the burial (on the right-hand side, at thigh level). This was later identified through X-ray as part of a pattern-welded sword (C. Daly, pers. comm.).

The evidence suggests that this represents an individual, Viking, male, furnished grave that can be dated to the early Viking period. It formed one of a small group of six burials known to have existed in the Dublin area, five of which were on the south side of the river and all of which are presumed to have dated to the 9th century. A similar grave was found a short distance to the west in Bride Street in 1860, although the exact location is not known. This was also a single male Viking grave, furnished with a sword, spearhead and boss.

The remainder of the site at Ship Street Great had been very badly truncated in the post-medieval period by extensive cellars, which were cut down into the boulder clay. The general depth of the surviving soil coverage, 0.6–0.9m (10.52–11.2m OD), suggests quite a gradual accumulation throughout the medieval period and into the early modern period. This area was occupied, however, in the 13th/14th century, as there was evidence of at least two buildings and a domestic hearth. The domestic hearth consisted of a roasting pit, the fill of which produced a very large number of carbonised grain, identified as wheat, barley and oats (P. Johnson, pers. comm.). Burnt fragments of fish and animal bone were also recovered, as were the remains of hazelnut shells and an indeterminate legume (peas or beans). Also of note were strands of straw, possibly used to wrap meat when roasting. A series of fire-cracked stones was also found, presumably set into the oven to heat it or used as a platform for bread.

2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin