2009:322 - PHOENIX PARK, DUBLIN, Dublin

Excavation for the insertion of two sections of ESB cable within the Phoenix Park was monitored. The first section is c. 600m in length and runs from the northern side of the access road into Mountjoy House, an 18th-century dwelling which now houses part of the offices of the Ordnance Survey. From there it passes through the garden area at the eastern and northern edges of the ditched enclosure around the Ordnance Survey grounds. It crosses along a pathway across the ditch at the northern end of the enclosure and continues northwards, whence it joins the road and runs westwards along the road exiting the Phoenix Park, at White’s Gate. The second section runs northwards from an existing ESB substation to the north of the US Ambassador’s residence to Chesterfield Road and from there it passes to the west of the mound of unknown date and to the east of Ashtown Castle to Ashtown Gate and beyond the lands of the park. The cable trench measured 0.3m wide and 0.75m deep.
The only feature identified during the monitoring along the first section was a French drain in the area to the rear of the OS office buildings. The north–south-orientated drain lay c. 0.4m below present ground level and was almost certainly connected to the 18th-century house located to its south. The soil profile comprised 0.4–0.6m of topsoil overlying subsoil. Fragments of late 18th-and 19thcentury ceramics, glass and clay pipe were contained within the topsoil. There was evidence for previous
ground disturbance for services along the grass margin of White’s Road. The depth of topsoil along Section 2 was
0.35–0.6m. A series of late 18th/19th-century features were exposed within the grounds of Ashtown Castle and a deposit of building rubble uncovered below the road surface within the castle grounds probably represents the demolished remains of Ashtown Lodge. A 19th-century stone culvert was uncovered
c. 5.5m to the north of Chesterfield Road and 0.4m below present ground level.
A cobbled surface c. 3m long was located 6m from the eastern wall of the southern building of the visitor’s centre within the grounds of Ashtown Castle. The cobbles lay c. 0.65–0.85m below the existing ground surface and may have been associated either with the castle or more likely with the 18th-century lodge. A section of intact wall foundation of the lodge was located between 38m and 44m to the south-west of the castle. This north–south-running wall foundation was constructed of randomly coursed brick and limestone bonded with mortar and was 0.4m high. Building rubble from the lodge was also uncovered in this area.

In the northern grounds of Ashtown Castle all of the soil had been removed and tarmac and hardcore overlaid the natural subsoil, creating the foundation for the road; any archaeological material that may have existed in this area would have been removed during the construction of the road.
A redundant east–west-orientated stone drain was uncovered 11.2m to the north of the northern gate into the grounds of Ashtown Castle. The drain was constructed of stone, brick and slate bonded with mortar. It was 0.35m wide and was uncovered 0.55m below present ground level.