LUAS dig uncovers 300-year-old Dublin house

Archaeologists are investigating the find of what is believed to be a 300-year-old house under the LUAS works in O'Connell Street in Dublin.

A spokesman for the Rail Procurement Agency told ireland.comit was not certain at this stage whether the find would delay the Luas building works.

He said archaeologists from Dúchas were at the site and it may take several days for them to establish the extent and value of the find. "It's in the lap of the experts," he said. "It all depends on the significance of the find whether or not there is a disruption."

The ruins of the house were uncovered by workmen at the junction of the city's main thoroughfare with Abbey Street yesterday afternoon. The spot is set to be the location of one of the main power stations for the light railway system.

A Dúchas spokesman, Mr Ed Burke, said the area was being fully inspected and it was too early to say the extent of the find. But, he said, it appeared that the remains, measuring five feet by 12 feet, were those of part of an 18th Century House.

It would have been covered when the Wide Streets Commissioners extended O'Connell Street in the early 1800s. "It's interesting because it's a unique remnant of what Dublin was like before it was changed by the Commissioners," he said. "It will be fully excavated and recorded."

He said he did not envisage the work would cause any major delays to the LUAS line.