2014:142 - Thomas Street/James’s Street Quality Bus Corridor, Dublin 8, Dublin

Monitoring for this scheme started in November 2013 and finished in August 2014. It comprised the monitoring of underground service laying, new foundations for bus-stops and street lights, and repaving. Historic street surfaces and street furniture were treated as archaeological and preserved or re-used. The scheme began at James' Street at the LUAS/Junction with Bow Lane and extends eastwards, on both sides of the road, along Thomas Street, stopping short of Cornmarket.

The monitoring programme exposed over 200 archaeological features dating to between the 12th and 20th centuries. The survival of significant amounts of medieval remains was astonishing, considering the relatively small and shallow areas of excavation opened during the works, and the extent of 18th- and 19th-century disturbance along the corridor.

In particular, the identification of very well-preserved medieval street surfaces from only 0.3m below the road surface on James’ Street, was extraordinary. This street surface rose up significantly at St James’ Church (on the north side of James’ Street, near Bow Lane) indicating that the former street was more undulating and that St James’, one of the oldest church sites in this part of the city, was located on a significant hill.

A small test excavation through the medieval metalled street surface identified an earlier layer containing a very large amount of pottery. This was the earliest ceramic assemblage recovered from the site, and included Dublin coarsewares as well as English hand-built coarsewares and unidentified medieval wares of possible 12th-century date. The assemblage appears to be associated with a plot on the north side of the street, adjacent to St James’ Church.

Further to the west, a large ditch marking the northern side of James’ Street may have carried a branch of the Poddle watercourses in the medieval period. This ditch was backfilled with enormous quantities of medieval pottery including large numbers of roof tiles and floor tiles. A number of possible ceramic wasters, seemingly from tile manufacture rather than pottery manufacture, were also recovered. The ditch appears to have been backfilled in the later medieval period during the widening of James’ Street, and the ceramic material within may have largely derived from an extra-mural block between James’ Street and Crocker’s Lane that may have housed a medieval tilery.

Masonry foundations of buildings associated with St James’ Gate were discovered on the north and south side of the street outside the main gates to the Guinness complex, at the junction with Watling Street.

Another significant discovery at James’ Gate was a ditch running along the line of the Parish boundary. This ditch may have formed part of the 1640s Confederate War city defences, as depicted on the Down Survey map.

Further significant medieval occupation layers and boundary ditch were discovered along the southern side of Thomas Street, while on the north side of the street medieval garden soils were uncovered.

Parts of a post-medieval tanning pit were uncovered to the front of St James’ Parochial Hall. Numerous sections of the c. 1700s cobbled street surface were also identified during the works, with one section at 138 Thomas Street also featuring two broken millstones incorporated into the cobbles street surface.

A later phase of monitoring was carried out in 2015 to the front of St Catherine’s Church on the south side of Thomas Street, which uncovered some disarticulated human remains. The remains were examined on site by Laureen Buckley who concluded that the material was ex situ. Previous works in this area had also uncovered disarticulated human remains and the bones uncovered during these works are likely to relate to the same material.

A key finding from the works is that significant medieval remains survive below large parts of James’ Street and Thomas Street almost directly below (0.3-0.5m) the modern road surface. These remains are extremely vulnerable.

The full report can be downloaded from www.archaeologyplan.com/projects.

Archaeology Plan, 32 Fitzwilliam Place Dublin 2