2023:620 - DUBLIN 7: 22 Little Britain Street, Dublin

A second phase of test excavations was undertaken at the site in February 2023 following previous assessment under 22E0697 by Paul Duffy. A further 10 trenches (T5–T15) were excavated. Numerous buried structures were identified. The most significant was a north-east/south-west aligned masonry wall, likely to be of medieval date and interpreted as the outer precinct wall enclosing St Mary’s Abbey (DU018-020048). Space and height constraints within the site restricted excavations in the vicinity of the wall. However, it was >1.07m high x 0.89m wide. It was constructed of calp limestone and bonded with lime mortar. A lime mortar render was noted on the southern face. A second presumed medieval wall extended south-south-east from the precinct wall. An undated cobbled surface was identified c. 2.2m below the existing ground surface and also assigned a late medieval date. The remaining features were post-medieval and consisted of walls, drains and industrial structures.