2010:257 - 161–168 Church Street/3–15 Hammond Lane, Dublin, Dublin

A large-scale excavation was carried out at 161–168 Church Street/3–15 Hammond Lane, Dublin 7, between November 2009 and February 2010. The site lies within the archaeological zone of potential (DU018–020) for Dublin city, in the medieval suburb known as ‘Oxmantown’. This was the third phase of archaeological excavation to be carried out at the site. The first phase of excavation was undertaken by Abi Cryerhall in 2003 (Excavations 2003, No. 535, 03E0721), while the second phase was carried out by Sinead Phelan in 2005 (Excavations 2005, No. 444, 05E0765). These excavations revealed a multi-phased archaeological site, with evidence for occupation dating from the prehistoric to the post-medieval periods.
The area excavated under Phase 3 was located in the south-eastern corner of the development site and was bound by Church Street to the east, Hammond Lane to the south and areas of previous excavation to the north and west. The earliest features encountered during Phase 3 included the remains of a large wattle-lined pit/ditch of uncertain function, as well as an earthen bank and a number of associated ditches and wattle fences, which ran parallel to the original Liffey foreshore. The next phase of activity at the site consisted of the remains of a post-and-wattle house, which fronted on to Church Street. The survival of the house was greatly aided by the fact that it had sunk into the soft fills of the earlier wattle-lined pit/ditch. The building measured c. 6.8m long (east–west) by 5.2m and was accessed by opposed doorways. Internally the structure contained a centrally placed hearth, evidence for bedding areas along the side walls and paired roof supports. It had a packed clay floor, which was supplemented by stone paving around the front door area.
Finds recovered from the structure included a knife blade, a copper-alloy stick-pin, a bone needle, a hinge pivot, nails and worked antler tines. This building appears to represent a Hiberno-Norse domestic residence of probable 11th/12th-century date.
The next phase of activity at the site was dated to the Anglo-Norman period and included a large number of deep rubbish and cesspits, as well as kilns, wells and ditches. A series of late medieval walls were also identified and these appeared to define property plots which fronted on to Church Street. The walls were generally mud-bonded and survived to a maximum of three or four courses high.
The final phase of activity at the site dated to the post-medieval period. It was defined by a series of ‘Dutch Billy’-type buildings fronting on to Hammond Lane and Church Street. These were probably late 17th century in date and were serviced by stone- and brick-lined latrines and wells, which were located to the rear of the properties.