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THE LUAS CROSS City line construction kicked off last month with a dig to uncover Georgian cellars around the capital.
So far, cellars have been found around the city that had gone unnoticed and unused for many years.
At one stage, a cobbled road was even found under the existing road on Parnell St. Archaeologists have been working with the construction teams during the street works.
A cellar crown (roof) on Westmoreland St. Pic: Luas Cross City
On Dawson St, the works beside South Anne Street uncovered two cellars, while four – which had already been filled in – were found in total on St Stephen’s Green north.
Six cellars were found at the College Green end of Westmoreland St, with one cellar going right out under the street. Eight cellars were found at the north end of Westmoreland St.
Pic: Luas Cross City
At one stage, a Georgian coal hole was found on Westmoreland street, containing coal that had been there for hundreds of years, said Luas Cross City.
The infilling of cellars is continuing in order to create space for the diversion of utilities for the final construction of the Luas line.
A cellar in front of eircom on Marlborough St. Pic: Luas Cross City
Initially, 25 cellars were identified along the route, but it was believed a number of unknown cellars would be located and treated during the works. The Irish Georgian Society expressed its disappointment in May that the cellars were being filled in.
The streets being affected by the works are:
A new map of the Luas line. Pic: Luascrosscity.ie
The cost of the project is €368 million, and up to 800 jobs will be created during the construction phase.
All photographs used with permission of Luas Cross City.
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Coal that was hundreds of years old! Now there’s a find. How old is coal normally?
Lol :-) coal can take millions of years to form but supposedly scientists can create coal in under a year. :-)
That was a direct line from Luas Cross City – I took it to refer to the length of time the coal was in the cellar. Have now clarified.
It’s Monday, lets have a laugh.
The Georgian period was 1714 – 1830 and when georgian houses and cellars were built and assuming they were lived in for some decades before they were built over it’d hardly be coal in there for hundreds of years..more likely at the turn on the last century. Just saying like!!
Was it the Smokeless rubbish.
ahh de hart of auld dublin
The coal measures of England and Wales (the most likely source of this coal) were formed during the Westphalian Stage of the Carboniferous period, 311.7 to 303.9 million years old. Westphalian is named after a region of Germany where coal is abundant.
It will be great when it’s finished, linking two great Dublin institutions, McGowens and Coppers
It’s not as bad as the Woodquay scandal in the 80s, but it IS a shame that there seems to be no other solution other than just ‘filling-them-all-in’.
After all our ancestors spent time and effort creating them in the first place.
I agree, it would be nice to see some preserved, even the one with the coal which showed what life was like in harder times.
It’s dreadful that the solution was to just pump concrete into them and forget about them. Typical Ireland.
Its called progress
Progress eh?…. oh so you mean how the early Dublin tramlines that were pulled up years ago and now are being put back as a luas line hmm? Sounds like replacement rather than progress.
Your right Shane,this country is steeped in history and it continues to be destroyed by all sorts of building,etc..what are we leaving for the younger generation?…
I wouldn’t hold up a public transport project just so that a group of 50 anoraks can go down into a coal cellar once a year.
I’d say something if there was some underground Dublin discovered, a la the Edinburgh vaults, but that’s not the case. These are disused rooms and little else.
Bag it, tag it, and preserve it by record. Take pictures by all means, and re-create the experience in a visitor centre. museum, or whatever. But honestly, when was the last time anyone went to see Georgian artifacts in a museum? Never, because you can still freely pick up stuff from antique dealers.
There are still thousands of Georgian and Victorian cellars on almost every other street in Dublin, surely give them a higher level of protection, with these particular few lost. It really is not that big a deal.
Its really sad that so much history is being lost. The cellers etc that are being filled in can never be replaced. Once its done its done. I understand progression but surely the ‘finds’ or cellers should be properly documented?. Even the areas … Anything. In the future when teaching kids about history its stuff like this that makes it real and tangible. Really sad to read stuff like this…
They are already filled in.
They are being documented. That’s why they have archaeologist’s on site and why you’re reading about them now.
Nobody cared that the cellars where there before and they aren’t filling in every cellar in the capital, just the ones that affect the new tram line so I don’t get what all the cribbing is about?
There’s till plenty of them lying unused and untouched for people to continue to ignore until the next thing that requires them to be filled and everyone can moan about progress destroying history again.
No Dave progress would have be to go underground !!!!
Underground rail isn’t exactly groundbreaking tech either :) , and it’s very expensive ….
I think underground rail is literally ground breaking.
I’m waiting for south side Green liners to start protesting about the impending invasion of north side Red liners. Ninanyways.
See Ross O’Carroll Kelly in last Saturday’s Irish Times. It has started.
I agree Melanie-all we appear to be leaving is ghost estates,ghastly tower blocks,etc..
I agree that there are hundreds of Georgian cellars all across the country and yes in the boomlet there were poorly build houses but progress must continue as we start to change how we build and use more sustainable methods. Public transport if done right which lets be honest the Luas is a great system. Underground will never work in Dublin they have learned their lesson with port tunnel the number of properties with damage from the tunnel would astound you there was over 50 properties damaged and that’s just 1 straight line…
This new transport link will be good for the city and will surely bring jobs and make it easier for people to get to them.
How does clarified coal burn?
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