2019:690 - Bonham Street, Dublin, Dublin

An archaeological assessment (test trenching) took place at the site of a proposed development at Bonham Street, Dublin 8 on 3–4 January 2019. At total of four test trenches were excavated within the site.

Previous testing of the site was carried out in November 1999 and May 2000 under excavation licence no. 98E0358, by archaeologists Claire Walsh and Alan Hayden. That assessment recorded deposits of organic silts with a depth averaging between 4m and 7m. These silts were interpreted as mainly dating from the late 17th–18th century, although some residual medieval material may be present. These organic silt deposits contained concentrations of finds including sugar cone vessels and clay pipe debris, which were evident towards the upper levels of the organic silt deposits. This phase of test trenching also identified the presence of a culverted stream at a depth of 0.9m below the current ground level, which is probably the Crockers Stream watercourse that was culverted in the 18th century.

The most recent test trenching identified very similar deposits. The upper 1.6m of deposits recorded within the four trenches appear to be 19th and 20th-century deposits of demolition rubble, below which dark organic silt deposits were recorded to an average depth of 3.4m below current ground level. These dark organic silts deposits appear to represent 17th- and 18th-century reclamation deposits and contained high concentrations of finds associated with domestic and industrial ground reclamation, including worked and used leather, dumps of broken clay smoking pipe fragments and animal bone. An assessment of the pottery assemblage recovered from the dark organic silt deposits indicates a date from the late 17th century or the early 18th century.

No physical evidence of the culverted stream was identified during the excavation, however, along the line of the previously identified culverted stream, a concrete floor level was recorded at a depth of 0.28m below the current ground level. This concrete floor appears to represent the floor of a rectangular building depicted on the site on the third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1906–9. A single fragment of human bone was also identified within the upper limits of the dark organic silt deposits within the northern limit of Trench 3.

During test trenching, the underlying natural boulder clay was not identified because of the depths of the dark organic silt deposits. The appearance of these deposits suggests that they may extend into earlier deposits that have the potential to date from the medieval and late medieval periods.

Unit 21 Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co Louth