2003:2249 - TUAM: Shop Street, Galway

Pre-development testing was carried out at the site of a proposed mixed retail/office development at Shop Street, Tuam, Co. Galway, on 3 and 4 April 2003. The site was within the zone of archaeological potential for Tuam (SMR 29:199). A short distance west of the proposed development were the ruins of a church, built in 1783.

The testing took place in an open yard/carpark, to the rear (west) of the three premises, along Chapel Lane. The testing consisted of the excavation (by machine) of two trenches, which measured 14.9m and 16.8m long, 1.6–2.5m wide and 0.8–3.0m deep. Below the tarmac was rubble fill. Below the rubble fill was orange/brown plastic clay, grey/cream loose loamy sand and bedrock. The rubble fill contained modern artefacts. The orange/brown plastic clay and loose loamy sands were sterile natural subsoils. The testing revealed evidence of modern (late 20th-century) activity only, probably associated with the extant buildings on the site.