County: Galway Site name: SWANGATE, Athenry
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 84:1 Licence number: 96E0377
Author: Anne Connolly, Archaeological Services Unit Ltd
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 550161m, N 727128m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.292117, -8.747531
A small housing development commenced at the site of Swangate, Athenry, in November 1996 without a pre-development archaeological assessment, which had not been requested as part of the planning process. The matter was reported to the National Monuments Service and recommendations were made immediately to the effect that the on-site building work should be suspended pending archaeological testing.
This was carried out in December 1996, and comprised the mechanical excavation of one trial-trench, parallel with the foundations of the development. The stratigraphy encountered was mainly shallow and had modern inclusions. At the south-west end of the trench a U-shaped cut was observed, 1.4m in depth below ground level, with a smaller, D-shaped cut located adjacent to it on the north. There were occasional finds of animal bone from the fill of the larger of the cuts, but no other material was recovered.
Oranmore Industrial Park, Claregalway Rd. Oranmore, Co. Galway
