Margaret Gowen and Co. Ltd., Rath House, Ferndale Road, Rathmichael, Co. Dublin, is a professional archaeological company founded in the early 1980s.The company has carried out a number of archaeological excavations and development-led investigations arising from the requirements of development control and planning process, in line with legal provisions of the Planning and Development Acts (2000) and the National Monuments Acts (1930-2004) and Amendments Acts.
The 119-121 Thomas Street Collection is one of many site archives that has been generated through this development-led excavation. The archaeological excavation on this site took place between November and December 1996 as part of the site clearance works. The work onsite resulted from an initial assessment carried out by Margaret Gowen (Excavations 1995,22-3) and three phases of archaeological activity were recorded, medieval, early post-medieval and late post-medieval. In the medieval phase, a large number of medieval pits were cut into the natural gravel deposits across the site. The pits were sealed by a spread of medieval clay, with which areas of burning were associated. These features are likely to relate to 'industrial activity' outside the town wall, tentatively dated to the thirteenth/fourteenth century. The finds included a substantial quantity of medieval pottery, a ring-brooch, a belt buckle and a decorated leather scabbard. In the early post-medieval phase, a number of post medieval features were recorded overlying the cut into the medieval features on the site. These included two wells, pits and a deposit of clay. The activity is related to domestic dwellings fronting onto Thomas Street, which was well developed by the early seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The site was substantially altered in the nineteenth century by the construction of the Blanchardstown Mills and by the alteration and rebuilding of houses and shops fronting onto Thomas Street. This involved a reduction in ground level and the removal of archaeological deposits to varying degrees across the site.
Archival History ↴
Transferred by Margaret Gowen and Company Ltd. to Dublin City Archives, 27 March 2009
Immediate Source Acquisition ↴
Donation
Content & Structure
Scope & Content: Margaret Gowen and Company Limited ↴
The collection contains archaeological excavation records from the site 119-121 Thomas Street, Dublin 8, licence 96E0280, directed by archaeologist Edmond O’Donovan of Margaret Gowen and Co. Ltd. Includes context sheets; bone sheets; timber sheets, site registers; drawings of plans, sections, elevations, finds and timber; photographs of artefacts; excavation and artefact slides. The collection also contains licences; the excavation report edited for publication; and specialist reports on wood samples, pottery, dendrochronology, animal bones, insect remains and plant remains.
Appraisal Destruction ↴
Permanent Retention
Arrangement ↴
Box list supplied by Margaret Gowen and Co. Ltd. Arranged by document type.
Conditions of Access & Use
Access Conditions
Available to view by public who apply for research card in Dublin City Library and Archive Reading Room, 138-144 Pearse street, Dublin 2.
Conditions Governing Reproduction
The terms of the Copyright and Related Acts (2000) allows DCLA to provide photocopies of material for research purposes only. Publication by written permission from Margaret Gowen and Company only.
Creation Dates
1997
Extent Medium
13 folders and 3 slide boxes
Material Language Script
English
Characteristics Tech Req
Slide viewer required
Finding Aids
Box list available on DCAA Database in Dublin City Library and Archive Reading Room
Archive Web Link →
Allied Materials
Publication Note
Database of Irish excavations reports, www.excavations.ie
Descriptive Control Area
Archivist Note
Ulrika Nilsson, revised by Paul Brett
Rules/Conventions
ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description, 2nd ed. Ottawa: International Council on Archives, 2000.
