County: Dublin Site name: DUBLIN CASTLE STATE APARTMENTS
Sites and Monuments Record No.: DU018-020 Licence number: 11E0137
Author: Melanie McQuade
Site type: Masonry walls of possible medieval–18th-century date
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 715350m, N 733980m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.343459, -6.267721
A series of four masonry wall foundations, from three different phases of construction, were discovered during monitoring of the excavation of a lift pit (4.9m by 3.35m) in the State Apartments. These were subsequently investigated by hand excavation. The earliest wall had an arched foundation and was constructed of limestone blocks bonded with lime mortar. It was 0.9m wide and 0.8m high and was on the same alignment as the 16th-century wall that delimited the presence chamber and the closet (illustrated on the 1673 plan of the castle). The location of the wall did not exactly correspond with that illustrated on the plan, however, suggesting that it may be an earlier medieval wall. The northern end of this wall was truncated during the next phase of building, which was represented by a wall constructed of masonry and brick. This wall corresponds with one illustrated on Robinson’s map of 1684 and its remains measured 0.4m wide by 1.25m high. The eastern end of this wall had been truncated during the third building phase, which was represented by two abutting walls of masonry and red brick construction. These walls are illustrated on Alfray’s map of 1767. The larger of the two walls was 1.2m wide and c. 1.1m high. The abutting wall was 0.9m wide and 1.1m high.
The earliest wall was preserved in situ. The upper courses of the late 17th-century wall and the mid-18th-century walls were removed and they were reduced by c. 0.4m in height in order to allow for the construction of the lift.
Finds recovered during excavation include sherds of 17th- and 18th-century pottery (North Devon gravel-tempered ware, Sgraffito, red-glazed and black-glazed earthenware). Numerous sherds of painted window glass were also recovered. This glass awaits specialist analysis but was almost certainly from one of the castle buildings, possibly the chapel that was reportedly located beneath the state apartments (Maguire 1974).
Reference
Maguire, J.B. 1974 Seventeenth-century plans of Dublin Castle. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 104, 5–14.
Archaeological Development Services Ltd, The Print House, 22–23 South Cumberland Street, Dublin 2
