2014:520 - 1-6 Sir John Rogerson's Quay / 16-25 Creighton Street, Dublin 2, Dublin

Six archaeological test pits were excavated to the rear of Nos 2 and 6, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, and within the northern corner plot at Creighton Street and Windmill Lane, Dublin 2. Four slit trenches were initially proposed in the method statement. These were found impossible to break-out owing to the thickness of the concrete slab, where the relatively low internal access to the areas investigated prohibited the use of heavier machinery. The pits were laid out to investigate the nature of any surviving primary structural remains and their associated foundation design. A secondary objective was to record the upper level of the silts introduced over the area prior to the construction of Sir John Rogerson’s Quay and the consequent reclamation of the area over the first half of the 18th century. Natural silts were not located in any of the areas investigated to a depth of 2m below the present surface levels. Below the modern slab in most cases was demolition rubble within a soil matrix, with occasional walls surviving. Within the demolished No. 6 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, both pits were excavated through very loose cellar backfill and a basement slab level was not penetrated.

The results of the assessment were thus inconclusive and it was recommended that further testing be undertaken immediately post-demolition to adequately programme the resolution of any archaeological remains surviving on the site during the construction phase. This resulted in the 2016 excavation of a 17th-century horizontal mill and an adjacent late 18th-century foundation platform comprising re-used ship timbers. This will be reported on elsewhere on the Excavations website.

Archaeology and Built Heritage, 79 Queen Street, Smithfield, Dublin 7