2021:181 - St Agnes Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12, Dublin

The site, adjacent to and west of No. 69 Innismore, at St Agnes Road, Crumlin Village, Dublin 12, was subject to archaeological monitoring and excavation.
The site is located within Dublin City Zone of Archaeological Potential (DU018-038), in the immediate environs of a disused Church of Ireland (DU018-038001-) that stands within a graveyard (DU018-038002-). The latter is surrounded by a stone wall that forms the west boundary of the site. The site is also located partially within a pre-Norman ecclesiastical enclosure (DU018-038003-) encompassing the previously mentioned monuments. Part of this enclosure, in the form of an outer enclosing element around the medieval churchyard, was identified during an archaeological assessment in 1998 (98E0362), when a ditch outside of and concentric to the boundary of the churchyard was identified. Subsequently, in 1999 (99E305), two areas were excavated and these contained a ditch and two associated pits with burnt material identified as of medieval date. The expected line of the ditch was found to likely traverse the site in question.
The site lies outside but adjacent to and east and north of Crumlin Village Architectural Conservation Area. The Old Church of Ireland church, a Protected Structure listed in the Dublin City Development Plan 2016–2022 (RPS ID. 7555), is located c.35m to the west of the site.
Archaeological monitoring and excavation took place in January 2021. The footprint of the proposed development was stripped of topsoil. The topsoil measured c. 0.18m in depth and sealed 18/19th-century made-up ground, C3. Within the north portion of the site, roughly east to west aligned Foundation Trench 1 was excavated. C3 which measured c. 0.5m in depth, was removed, and exposed a north to south aligned medieval ditch C4. It appears that the line of the enclosure ditch is further east than expected. Only the inner, western edge of the ditch was exposed and was cut into light yellow orange silty clay natural. The eastern edge of the ditch C4, if surviving, is located outside of the site, to the east, within the back yard associated with the existing building that partially truncates the upper part of the ditch further south. For fear of undermining the foundations of the existing building, it was decided to monitor stripping of C3 within the footprint of proposed foundations (Trenches 1-5) and excavate by hand the upper extent of the medieval ditch C4 that will be impacted upon. In total, five foundation trenches were excavated. The trenches measured 1.5m in width, and in total, 33.5m of linear trenches were excavated. Subsequently, a portion of the upper fill of the ditch C5 was excavated to a depth of max. 0.44m. C5 was compact mid-brown silty clay and contained many glazed medieval pottery sherds (20E0728:05:1-14).
The ditch exposed is a part of pre-Norman ecclesiastical enclosure DU018-038003-. The pottery retrieved from the upper fill C5 was identified as Dublin Ware, dating to 13th century and later.
No additional archaeological features were present within excavated foundation trenches.
The upper part of the ditch C4 that will be impacted by the proposed development have now been excavated. The remaining part of the ditch was covered with plastic, the enclosure ditch will be preserved in situ.

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