County: Dublin Site name: DUBLIN: 47 Blackhall Place/17–18 Blackhall Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: DU018–020 Licence number: 04E0631 ext.
Author: Rob Lynch with Faith Bailey, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 714326m, N 734426m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.347689, -6.282920
Monitoring was undertaken at 47 Blackhall Place and 17–18 Blackhall Street, Dublin 7, during May 2007 after previous testing on site carried out by Dermot Nelis, IAC, in 2004 (Excavations 2004, No. 515).
Testing had revealed a made ground level of at least 3m, which was significantly disturbed across the site by later development. One possible relict archaeological layer was identified in some areas of the site. This consisted of a moist, black, slightly organic layer, which, although it contained modern finds, was interpreted as a disturbed but in situ archaeological layer at a maximum depth of 3m. During the monitoring of the groundworks, the black layer was identified across the majority of the site at varying levels. It became clear during the removal of the overburden of made ground that this black layer, which was inconsistent in both thickness and location, was the result of later deposition of material rather than an in situ archaeological layer. A proper examination of the layer was made during the removal of material down to basement level and it was found to consistently contain late 19th- and 20th-century pottery fragments, along with butchered animal bone and some organic plant remains such as pieces of wood and smaller twigs. No archaeologically significant material was noted within this layer or the layer of overburden that sealed the site.
Excavation of the basement level finished once the floor level reached c. 3.1m below present ground level. However, a further four pits, measuring c. 2m by 2m, were excavated through this level for the purposes of inserting further support infrastructure. These pits were c. 1.5m in depth and the excavated material was found to consist of a loosely compacted, dark-grey, friable mixture of small and medium stones and sandy clay, along with modern building debris, modern pottery and some animal bone. Natural subsoil was only observed in two of the pits, at a total depth of c. 4.5m.
120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow
