2008:401 - Irish Times Building, 8–16 D’Olier Street/24–27 Fleet Street, Dublin, Dublin

Archaeological investigations were undertaken in association with the redevelopment of the old Irish Times building, 8–16 D’Olier Street/24–27 Fleet Street, Dublin 2. The new development includes the retention of the protected structures at 8–16 D’Olier Street, with a new building replacing the old steel-frame structure which had fronted on to Fleet Street. The site is located within the zone of archaeological potential for the city of Dublin, to the east of the medieval walled town, within an area which originally formed part of the estuary of the River Liffey.
An assessment was undertaken in July 2008; this established that 17th-century land reclamation deposits and 18th-century structural remains were present within the footprint of Nos 8–16 D’Olier Street (19th-century buildings which are being retained as part of the development). These in turn seal stratified estuarine/riverine deposits (gravels and silts). The basement of the modern steel-frame structure which fronted Fleet Street, to the rear of Nos 8–16, appeared to have removed most of the land reclamation material and later structural remains. However, this structure appeared to have had minimal impact on underlying estuarine/riverine deposits. No timber structures were identified within the estuarine/riverine deposits during the assessment and these deposits appeared relatively sterile, while shell was present, there were no signs of fragmentary wood or other organic debris. However, there is a potential that ground reduction for development could uncover timber structures or other archaeological features.
On consultation with the city archaeologist it was agreed that archaeological investigation and recording should be undertaken in conjunction with monitoring of the groundworks at the site.
All ground reduction undertaken in conjunction with the development was subject to monitoring. The earlier structural remains present within the footprint of Nos 8–16 D’Olier Street were exposed. The land reclamation deposits in this part of the site were also recorded and artefacts retrieved. The orientation of the structural remains suggests that they derived from the structures shown on Rocque’s map of 1760. These structures were demolished by the Wide Streets Commission in the 1790s as part of the redevelopment of the area following the opening of Carlisle Bridge (now O’Connell Bridge) in 1795. This redevelopment led to the creation of D’Olier Street and Westmoreland Street, dramatically changing the street topography of the area.
The deposition of the land-reclamation deposits can be generally dated to the last quarter of the 17th century, precipitated by the construction of Hawkin’s Wall (now Aston Quay). By 1669, there are historical references to disputes surrounding the (ongoing) construction of the wall, though the earliest reference to the completed structure is from 1683.
In addition a series of five ship’s timbers were retrieved. These timbers were uncovered during monitoring of underpinning works along the northern wall of No. 8 D’Olier Street. The timbers were all parallel to each other, set into the upper level of the land-reclamation deposits on the same alignment as the foundations for the 18th-century buildings and enclosed by wall footings on the south and west. This suggests that the timbers were deliberately deposited as part of the construction process for these buildings (probably to stabilise the land-reclamation deposits and support overlying floor levels).
A large assemblage of ship’s timbers was retrieved during investigations by Georgina Scally at a site on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay in 2006 (Excavations 2006, No. 643, 05E0617). In this instance the timbers had been used to found the walls of 18th-century buildings. This indicates a precedent for the reuse of ships timbers as part of 18th-century construction techniques.
The structural remains and land-reclamation deposits within Nos 8–16 D’Olier Street were removed to the level of base of formation only, so further archaeological material does remain at the site, preserved in situ below the development.
Ground reduction for the new extension, which will replace the old steel-frame structure, was monitored; only vestigial and highly truncated remains of land-reclamation deposits were noted below the formation level of the old extension. Underlying this was stratified layers of estuarine/riverine gravels and silts. A small number of worked timbers were retrieved from these deposits, however they were generally sterile. There was no indication of the presence of any waterfront structures or other timber structures and it is most likely that the worked timbers retrieved were washed in by the river rather than deriving from any structure at the site.