County: Dublin Site name: Portraine Demesne
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 15E0396 (ext)
Author: Red Tobin
Site type: Prehistoric / Post Medieval
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 724469m, N 750521m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.489964, -6.124318
These are the initial results of an archaeological excavation (Licence ref:15E0396) carried out on possible prehistoric structures and associated pits, which were located in Area 5 of the proposed new National Forensic Mental Health Services (NFMHS) hospital site, St.Ita’s Hospital, Portrane Demesne, County Dublin, as part of the advanced works contract on site. The excavation was carried out by Red Tobin of RedArc Consulting Limited under licence ref:15E0396, between 20th April and the 3rd June 2016.
The excavation, as a part of the advance works contract on site, followed on from an Archaeological Impact Assessment (AIA) undertaken by Archaeological Projects Ltd in 2014, which forms Appendix K of the Environmental Impact Survey (EIS) prepared for the NFMHS project. This report highlighted several areas of archaeological potential requiring mitigation prior to the development. As a part of this assessment archaeological test trenching was carried out over the footprint of the entire development by Archaeological Projects Ltd under licence ref. 14E0140. This program of test trenching identified potential archaeological features in Area 5 which would require mitigation during topsoil removal. During the advance works on site these features would have been impacted by tree clearance works and an alternate mitigation strategy was agreed in consultation with the Department of the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (DAHG), the Design Team and the HSE.
As part of this updated mitigation, 5 linear test trenches were excavated from the western boundary of the development site that demonstrated the presence and extent of further potential archaeological remains. The additional archaeological features on site comprised what possibly appeared to be a possible structure(s) with associated features and remains. Any archaeological remains at this location would be impacted upon during the construction phase and an area measuring 50m north-south and 30m east-west was topsoil stripped and archaeologically excavated. The preliminary excavation results and finds are suggestive of scattered or marginal pre-historic activity, with later post-medieval agricultural and industrial activity also recorded on site.
RedArc Consulting Ltd, 35 Brook Meadow, Avoca, Co Wicklow
