2013:047 - Loreto Abbey Secondary School, Loreto Avenue, Dalkey, Dublin

Monitoring was carried out at the Loreto Secondary School, Loreto Avenue, Dalkey, Co. Dublin prior to the construction of a new P.E. hall and associated facilities. The site is adjacent to but outside the curtilage of Loreto Abbey which is a protected structure (RPS 1445) and is located east of the Zone of Archaeological potential for Dalkey. A well (DU023-024) is located south-east of the existing Loreto secondary school. The site of the proposed extension is located immediately west-south-west of Loreto Avenue which is a current access route into the Loreto Secondary School.

The topsoil on the site overlay a post-medieval dark brown garden soil containing sherds of blackware and unglazed earthenware in addition to fragments of glass bottles. The garden soil was a maximum 0.3m in depth and overlay a natural sandy brown boulder clay which in turn overlay natural bedrock. The garden soil was associated with the adjacent Loreto Abbey and some other 19^th-century buildings which previously stood at the north-west corner of the present site on Shamrock Hill. The foundation remains of these buildings were exposed during the topsoil stripping and were removed. The buildings which represented houses are not indicated on the first edition c. 1835 OS map but are shown on the c. 1900 OS map indicating a mid-19^th-century date of construction. The remains of a wall running roughly east-west was exposed near the southern end of

the site and probably represents the original garden wall around the Loreto Abbey grounds. It is in line with the narrow passage or laneway that currently leads to the water’s edge and the extant subterranean tunnel which was constructed to allow the local people access to the Lady Well without being seen from the residence at Carraig na Greine. The foundation remains of a second wall just north of the first one indicates that this narrow passage originally extended further west towards Leslie Avenue. Both walls are evident on the c. 1835 OS map but only the outside one is indicated on the c. 1900 map.

An area to the south of the school was also stripped of topsoil to provide a temporary compound for the duration of the construction contract. Only the sod was removed onto the topsoil and neither boulder clay nor any archaeological deposits were exposed. This area will be reinstated to grass when the works are complete.

Other than the 19^th-century features described above, no other features or deposits of archaeological significance were identified on the site.

Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit, Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth