2019:050 - ROSCOMMON TOWN: Castle Street, Ballypheasan, Roscommon

Two trial trenches were mechanically excavated on 16 April 2019 to the rear of ‘First and Fast’ Takeaway Restaurant, Castle Street, Roscommon. The work was carried out in dry and bright conditions with a mini-digger fitted with a 1m wide toothless, ditching bucket. The site consists of a narrow back yard orientated east-west. The site is bounded to the south by a 3m high rubble-built wall, to the north by a concrete wall and to the east is a secure gate leading to the Lanesborough Road. The trenches were orientated east-west and measured (T1) 8.7m  and (T2) 8.8m respectively and were dug to an average depth of 0.46m. Below the gravel and paving slab surface layer (0.2m) was a mixed layer of dark brown clay with modern debris including glass, table ware, metal debris, aluminium cans and a fragment of a clay pipe stem. Below this was orange brown subsoil. No finds or features archaeological potential were noted throughout the course of the excavations.