2024:234 - Mullingar Regional Sports Complex, Springfield or Spittlefield, Mullingar, Westmeath

Archaeological testing was undertaken of lands at Springfield or Spittlefield, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath in advance of a proposed development of a sports centre, with the aim of informing the planning process.

The site lies immediately outside the north-east edge of Mullingar town and occupies 7.86ha of pasture in a landscape that is predominantly rural in character. Twenty-two test trenches were excavated across three fields either side of the Robinstown link road. The trenches investigated a combined area of 5% of the total site. Modern made ground was seen in some places, often directly overlying natural geological deposits, indicating that parts of the site had been previously cleared of topsoil with a bulldozer before imported fill material was spread to raise the ground level. Occasional former field boundary ditches were noted in the trenches; these corresponded with boundaries noted on historic mapping and none are earlier than the 19^th century. No archaeological features, deposits or artefacts were observed.