2026:132 - Cloghran, Corballis, Dublin

Monitoring of ground works on the site was carried out over several months from March to May 2026. The groundworks mainly involved the removal of contaminated soil on the site and the excavation of trenches to locate buried services on the site. The excavation of test pits and a tyre wash area was also monitored.

Excavation of the contaminated soil was mainly confined to the western half of the site, along with the south-east corner. Some excavation occurred in the centre of the site. On the western side of the site, the ground was excavated to an average depth of 1.3m. In the section face, the modern topsoil (C1), a layer of rubble (C2), and the contaminated soil (C3) could be seen. Along the base of the cutting, numerous modern services were exposed and, in some cases, manhole covers were exposed; these likely had been buried by the contaminated soil that was placed above them. The level of the excavation appeared to stop within the original subsoil or the possible natural (C4). Some ceramic land drains could be seen in this level, likely from when the site was farmland in the 20^th century and before.

The south-eastern portion of the site was not excavated to the same depth as the western side, approximately 0.3m to 1m. The ground consisted of the contaminated soil with modern topsoil above it. Again, the excavation appeared to stop within the original topsoil. Some modern services were also exposed in this part of the site.

A tyre wash area was placed in the centre of the site, near the entrance. A small area was excavated in the ground to place the metal wash tray and the access ramps. Several pits were excavated across the site for pressure tests to be carried out. Some of the pits reached a depth of up to 1.5m. Narrow slit trenches were excavated in several places across the site to determine the location of modern services.

No artefacts or archaeological features were exposed during the monitoring of groundworks on the site.