2011:202 - AN UACHTARÁIN DEMESNE, PHOENIX PARK, DUBLIN, Dublin

An on-site surface investigation of built stonework at a location west of the Aras an Uachtaráin dwelling, formerly the Viceregal Lodge, was carried out to try and establish whether it was the remains of a post-medieval ice house, said to have existed in that general area.
The site under investigation measured approximately 1.3m by 0.6m and consisted of buried stone/brickwork, which appeared sunken into the ground.
The surface of the stone structure was exposed almost immediately. It had been covered by approximately 0.4m of soil, which may have been piled up by badger activity. Removal of the soil from the stonework by hand and machine revealed a section of a barrel-vaulted red brick tunnel or culvert which appeared to extend to the south. Small investigative holes in the nearby roadway exposed a small section of the top of the culvert brickwork, which all connected up with another section of the culvert partially exposed further south.
A 1.8m length of the red brick tunnel was exposed north–south. The arch was built of red bricks measuring 0.2m by 0.1m, forming a barrel-shaped structure measuring approximately 1.25m wide. The arch was built on a rough blackstone foundation, which spread out for 0.7m on either side of the base of the arch. Because of the limitations for excavation, it was not possible to expose the full depth of the structure. It appeared not to be full walk-in height, at approximately 3–4ft in depth, but this could not be fully established.
Thin slate inserts were observed set into either side of the double row of red bricks which formed the roof of the tunnel, to seal gaps between the bricks.
At the most northerly section of the tunnel was a designated opening into the structure, unlike the remains further south, which revealed arch collapse. The brickwork was uniformly faced (apart from a small collapse). An obvious gradual turn in the structure indicated its possible underground continuation in an easterly direction.
The tunnel structure extended for at least 10m by visible surface indication and appeared to extend further underground, and therefore could not be classed as an ice house. The tunnel may possibly have functioned as an access route, or as a domestic service culvert to transport goods/water; it may be that the ice house, subject to its exact location, could have been serviced by this culvert. Further exploration may be carried out at a future date to try and locate any surviving remains of the ice house.

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