County: Dublin Site name: 3a Seafort Parade, Blackrock
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: Unlicensed monitoring
Author: Marion Sutton & Seán Shanahan, Shanarc Archaeology Ltd.
Site type: Urban
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 720702m, N 729965m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.306200, -6.188912
Archaeological monitoring of groundworks associated with the construction of a dwelling house on a 159 sq m site at 3a Seafort Parade, Blackrock, Co. Dublin was carried out in respect of Planning Ref: D18A/0902. Groundworks were monitored over four days between 15 and 20 January 2020.**
The site is located on, or close to the edge of what was depicted on maps through the 18th and early 19th centuries as an area of dry ground east of the coast road, an area once known as Williamstown, prior to the wider townland of Intake being reclaimed from the sea.
Groundworks principally comprised the machine excavation of foundation trenches, 1.1m to 1.4m wide, 0.80m to 1.20m deep and 7.5m to 9.5m long, to the immediate north-east side of a protected structure, No. 3 Seafort Parade.
No features or deposits of archaeological significance were identified during archaeological monitoring. The features and stratigraphy exposed, supported by the recovered finds, corresponds with cartographic evidence that definitely shows development on the site from the second half of the 19th century.
Finds recovered from make-up layers at the site were principally domestic in nature, comprising ceramic tableware of late 18th to early 20th century date (shell-edged wares, transfer print, stoneware, black-glazed redware), the remains of 19th century bottles (including alcohol), and clay pipe examples of locally produced, mid-late 19th century date.
Unit 39A, Hebron Business Park, Hebron Road, Kilkenny
