2025:491 - National Centre for Research and Remembrance, Seán MacDermott Street Lower, Dublin 1, Dublin

No features of archaeological significance were noted with the exception of Foundation Inspect Pit 04 (FIP04). The foundation testing pits were excavated using a 3-tonne tracked machine and on two occasions by hand where the machine was unable access the specific location.

Below 0.1–0.15m of concrete was a coarse gravel hardcore deposit with a depth of 0.21m. Underlying this was a 1.15m deep deposit of dark brown mixed gravelly clay with red brick pieces and mortar fragments. Below this was a 1m deep deposit of a firm brown-orange slightly gravelly clay with some red brick fragments. These deposits abutted a stone-built wall, which had the wall of the dormitory built upon it. This lower and earlier wall is likely associated with earlier structures on the site. It also corresponds with the stone-built wall uncovered in Trench 1 of the previous archaeological test trenching. The base of this wall was determined at 2m below present ground level. Excavation ceased at 2.5m depth. The only archaeological features present was a 19th-century stone wall running north-west/south-east.

Trial pits were excavated by an 8-ton tracked excavator. In Trail Pit 03 (TP03), below 0.15m of concrete laid on steel rebar mesh was 0.15m of grey coarse gravel hardcore.
Directly underlying the hardcore gravel, the top of a north-south running brick culvert
was uncovered. Abutting this culvert on both sides was a made ground deposit, 0.8m deep, of dark brown clayey sandy gravel with red brick and mortar fragments and sherds of mid-late Victorian pottery. This overlaid another made ground deposit which contained less red brick and had a depth of 1m. This deposit overlaid the natural grey medium to coarse gravels. Excavation ceased at 2.9m depth. The only archaeological feature present was a Victorian era brick-built culvert.

The results have determined that much of the area of the proposed development has been heavily disturbed by 18th- and 19th-century development and their subsequent demolition. The site was also subject to modern demolition. Much of the demolition detritus was used to infill basements (of which the remains of a number were encountered during the site works) and the raising of ground for additional building.
However, of note is a substantial wall which currently forms the foundation of the western wall of the upstanding dormitory of the Laundry. This wall was encountered in Trench 1, during the previous archaeological test trenching phase by IAC Archaeology in 2017 (Bayley and Bailey 2017). This is interpreted as being the same wall.

Another structure of note was a deep stone- and brick-built well at the southern end of the present Laundry Chapel. This well was uncovered during the locating of services prior to the excavation of FIP 05, FIP 07 and TP 01. This would be the second well structure noted on the site of the proposed development. The first (and infilled) was encountered during the test trenching programme in 2017 (Bayley and Bailey 2017).

References:

Bayley, D and Bailey, F   2017  Archaeological Assessment at Sean MacDermott Street, Dublin 17E0237 for Dublin City Council (IAC Archaeology unpublished report).