2003:512 - DUBLIN: 106–108 The Coombe, Dublin

The site was tested by Helen Kehoe in 1999 (Excavations 2002, No. 232, 99E0560), when occasional sherds of medieval pottery were discovered to the south of the ‘Widow’s House’. Due to the discovery of this material, the development was monitored in compliance with the planning conditions.

A series of boreholes were excavated near the Widow’s House, none of which produced any material of archaeological significance. The agreed conservation programme for the Widow’s House required that it be braced for stability. The bracing required the excavation of six pads, three on the eastern and three on the western side of the building. These were excavated to a depth of 1.2m and the middle pad on the western side of the building produced occasional sherds of post-medieval pottery. The original foundations of the rectangular building adjacent to the east of the Widow’s House, which contained Parke’s Arch, were retained in situ. The foundation was constructed using coarse-cut, angular-shaped blocks of limestone. The underpinning of Parke’s Arch led to the discovery of two sherds of medieval pottery along the street frontage from a black organic clay at a depth of 2.4m.

The western and southern sides of the building were underpinned to a depth of 3m below the present ground surface. This led to the recovery of several sherds of 18th- and 19th-century pottery. In addition, the internal area of the Widow’s House was lowered by an average of 0.3m. This led to the recovery of several pieces of 18th- and 19th-century pottery and pieces of animal bone. No evidence for significant archaeological material was discovered during the monitoring of the stabilisation of the Widow’s House. The second phase of construction, at the southern portion of the site, was monitored by Melanie McQuade (No. 513, Excavations 2003).