2019:176 - DUBLIN: 19–20 Blackhall, Dublin

Testing was carried out using a mechanical excavator fitted with a flat grading bucket on 26–27 February 2019 at the site of a proposed development at 19–20 Blackhall Street, Dublin 7 in response to planning conditions attached to the proposed development (Planning Ref.: 3014/18- Condition 14).

A total of seven trenches were excavated across the site measuring 94.4 linear metres. The trench pattern deviated slightly from that initially proposed due to the presence of a diesel tank in the south-east corner of the site and a live drainage and manhole run towards the east of the site.

The upper layer across the site, (designated C1) was composed of a late 19th/early 20th-century mixed demolition backfill containing clinker, ash and cinder within a sandy clay; C1 had an average depth of 0.6m. The subsoil (designated C2) is a brownish-yellow sand with moderate rounded stone inclusions. An average of 4m of made ground of 18th/19th-century date was encountered across the site. A line of cellars, two rooms deep, was identified fronting Blackhall Street. These survive as stone walls, freestanding stone columns and at least one fireplace. Further, a single tanning pit of 18th-century date was identified in the south-west corner of the site, while a linear ditch of 18th-century date was identified running north-north-east/south-south-west.