2018:168 - Liffey Street Upper & Abbey Street Middle, Dublin, Dublin

Testing was undertaken at the site of a proposed hotel development at Nos 1-6 Liffey Street Upper, Nos 111-114 Middle Abbey Street, structures to the rear of Nos 108-109 Middle Abbey Street, and Hotel Yard, Dublin 1. The investigation was carried out in response to a request for further information issued by Dublin City Council (Planning Ref.:3697/17)

Testing has shown that the stratigraphy comprises c. 3-3.5m of 18-19th-century reclamation/demolition deposits. While these deposits have the potential to contain post-medieval walls, cellars and surfaces, none were encountered in the trenches opened at current ground level (4.37 O.D.) These reclamation deposits overlie riverine deposits of coarse sand and rounded stones.

Testing indicated that construction of the basements to a depth of 1.43m O.D. may not have disturbed the underlying, pre-reclamation layers. The survival of a cobbled surface beneath the basement slab shows that evidence for an earlier phase of post-medieval activity at the edge of the Liffey estuary may also survive. Limited hand testing of the underlying riverine deposits to a depth of 1.3m below the basement slab did not uncover any archaeology, however, potential remains for prehistoric features to be contained within these riverine deposits.

IAC Ltd, Unit G1 Network Enterprise Centre, Kilcoole, Wicklow