County: Dublin Site name: Luas C1 development, George’s Dock/Mayor Street Upper and Lower, etc.
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 07E0167
Author: Frank Mallon, Callan Lodge, 130 Ballygassoon Road, Co. Armagh BT61 8JU.
Site type: Monitoring
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 717928m, N 734582m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.348299, -6.228788
Monitoring took place of groundworks associated with the Luas C1 development from November 2007 to 18 April 2008. The development extends for 1.5km from Connolly Station to the termination at the Point Depot, past George’s Dock and along Mayor Street Upper and Lower, and the north side of the Liffey in Dublin City Docklands and will largely be constructed on the road surface.
The alignment is located in areas along the north side of the Liffey that were reclaimed from the 1730s and later. The majority of the land was used extensively in the 18th, 19th and 20th century for heavy industry, rail and shipping use, but evidence for earlier use has been identified. Previous excavations within 150m south of the development uncovered the remains of Mesolithic and Neolithic fishtraps, the earliest dated examples recorded in either Ireland or the UK and therefore of international importance.
No major archaeological finds or features were uncovered. Several sections of wall foundations for buildings that are depicted on the 19th-century editions of the OS maps for the area were located. These were not impacted on and were reburied.
A series of brick-lined sewers dating to the 19th century were also located. These were observed in several locations along the alignment of Mayor Street Upper and Lower. In some cases it was necessary to break through these sewers and reinforce them to prevent collapse.
A 19th-century plank-lined drain was located at the site of the electrical substation at the Spencer Dock stop, along with 42 glazed pottery fragments, and two clay-pipe stems, again all of 19th-century date.
