2008:497 - Templeogue House, Templeogue, Dublin

A small-scale excavation was undertaken to the south-east of Templeogue House (a national monument and site of castle DU022–010) in order to uncover and fully record a path or paved area previously revealed during monitoring works a decade ago prior to the laying of a proposed new pedestrian pathway.
A medieval ditch, which was overlain by post-medieval layers and the paved surface, was identified running in the direction of the south-eastern corner of Templeogue House, and appeared to predate the construction of the building. The pottery identified from the ditch, two sherds of medieval Leinster cooking ware, is of 12th–14th-century date and represents the first medieval finds from Templeogue House. Previous work to the north-west of Templeogue House had suggested that the area was waterlogged and possibly unsuitable for significant construction prior to the 16th century; however, these findings refute that and demonstrate some form of activity here, in or around the 13th century.
The original intention of the archaeological work was to define and date the partially visible pavement to the south-east of Templeogue House. On the basis of ceramic dating and stratigraphic sequence the house was shown to have been constructed in or around 1730, probably as part of the extensive groundworks undertaken by Sir Compton Domville. The pavement appears to have belonged to an external unroofed yard, situated between Templeogue House and a second structure to the south-east. Part of this second structure was identified, and this is probably the north-east/south-west-orientated structure depicted on Rocque’s map in 1760, which had been demolished by the time of the first-edition OS map in 1843. No access points were found linking either structure to the paved yard. The brick footings of some sort of temporary storage units were identified, suggesting that the yard may have been used for the storage of domestic fuels, rubbish or tools.
The entire area was covered in a layer of demolition rubble, which was packed with 18th-century artefacts, particularly glass wine bottles. This deposit is very similar, if not identical, in character to the exceptional deposit of glass excavated by Leo Swan in the undercroft of Templeogue House in 1996 (Excavations 1996, No. 144, 96E0010). Unlike the 1996 excavations, no late 17th-century glass tableware was present in this assemblage; however, the assemblages are clearly associated with each other. Although the assemblage is of predominately mid-18th-century date, it appears to have been laid over the pavement in the 19th century and is thus a secondary deposit.
All archaeological deposits and features (with the exception of the brick footings) will be preserved in and below the proposed new pathway.