County: Galway Site name: GALWAY: 24 Abbeygate St., Lower, Townparks
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Anne Connolly
Site type: Town
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 529865m, N 725229m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.272753, -9.051480
The excavation of four days duration was carried out in November 1990 and was funded by the developer. The 19th-century derelict building which occupied the site was demolished in October 1990 and fifteen architectural fragments of 19th-century date were recovered from the fabric of the building. Another stone, an eighteen-sixteen stone, was removed from the house wall that fronted onto Abbeygate Street Lower.
The rectangular area, which measured c. 7.2m x 5m due for redevelopment was investigated for archaeological potential. Four areas were excavated and dug until bedrock was exposed. They coincided with the proposed trenches for building foundations on the architect's plan.
The excavation revealed little of archaeological significance. In the south-east end of the site a narrow area of cobbles measuring approx. 0.4m wide and 2.64m long appeared just below ground level. The trenches were mostly filled with modern rubble. Underlying the modern rubble in all eases was a dark yellowish-brown layer which yielded no archaeological material. Natural boulder clay and bedrock occurred below this layer.
In all areas bedrock was revealed no deeper than 0.8m below ground level. It was particularly high in the northern part of the site, where it was just 0.15m below ground level. It appears the foundation of the derelict house was built directly on bedrock in this area.
The quantity of finds was small. They consisted of some modern crockery, a clay pipe bowl, a wine bottle fragment and a piece of worked bone.
7 University Close, Galway
