2006:603 - 37–38 Capel Street, Dublin, Dublin

An assessment was carried out at 37–38 Capel Street, Dublin 1. The front of the site is located on the eastern side of Capel Street, while the rear of the site backs on to Jervis Lane Lower. As part of this assessment an extensive test-trenching programme was carried out across the site footprint. This revealed that the development site had been truncated by 19th/20th-century warehouses. Only one feature of archaeological interest was noted during this testing programme. This was the remains of a pair of vaulted red-brick cellars of probable 18th-century date which were located directly to the rear of No. 38 Capel Street. During subsequent monitoring of topsoil removal associated with the construction phase of the development, a second pair of vaulted red-brick cellars was identified immediately to the rear of No. 37 Capel Street. It was agreed, after consultation, that the vaulted cellars should be resolved under the testing licence.
The cellar identified to the rear of No. 38 consisted of two parallel, east–west-oriented brick arches sitting on limestone walls. The sequence of construction appears to have been: firstly the basement cut was excavated, then the outer wall and internal dividing wall were built and finally the two brick arches were added. The entire structure measured 5m north–south by 3.1m by 1.6m in depth. The pair of vaulted cellars to the rear of No. 37 was constructed in a similar fashion to the one located to the rear of No. 38. However, this structure was considerably larger, measuring 6.4m north–south by 5.3m by 1.6m in depth. The cellars, which abutted the rear walls of Nos 37 and 38, were probably contemporary with these late 18th-century buildings. Their morphology suggests that they were the remains of small 18th-century coalbunkers.