County: Dublin Site name: DUBLIN: 54–58 Townsend Street/8 & 8A Prince's Street South/25–28 Gloucester Street South/Bracken's Lane
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E1496
Author: Martin E. Byrne, Byrne Mullins & Associates
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 716470m, N 734297m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.346063, -6.250775
Testing was undertaken at a development site bounded by Townsend Street, Prince's Street South, Gloucester Street South and the eastern end of Bracken's Lane as part of the preparation of an archaeological impact assessment of the proposed redevelopment of the site. The site is partially within the zone of archaeological potential for Dublin city (SMR 18:20). The site formed part of the Lazar's Hill precinct of the city and cartographic/historic sources indicate that no major developments on the site were undertaken until at least the mid-18th century.
Six trenches were excavated across the site. The remains of former basements and the external structural wall foundations of previously demolished buildings fronting onto Townsend Street were uncovered. The floor surfaces of such basements were up to 1.5m below the present ground level, indicating that the former buildings were constructed over semi-basements. The natural subsoils were uncovered directly below such basement floors, although on the northern end of the site these were uncovered at a depth of up to 3.12m below the present ground surface. A 0.32m layer of silt and sand lenses overlying the subsoil in such northern areas indicates that this may represent part of the former Liffey shoreline. Furthermore, the sloping nature of the subsoil, from south to north, is evidence of the former ridge of the Lazar's Hill precinct.
No features or finds of archaeological interest were uncovered during the course of testing.
7 Cnoc na Gréine Square, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare
