County: Galway Site name: GALWAY: 44 Dominick Street Lower (Rear of)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0423
Author: Richard Crumlish, Archaeological Services Unit Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 529487m, N 725031m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.270923, -9.057103
The test excavation of a site, in advance of development, at the rear of No. 44 Lower Dominick Street, Galway, was carried out on 22 September 1998. The development consisted of the construction of sixteen apartments on the site. Although planning permission was granted for the development without any conditions relating to the preservation of potential archaeology, this testing was undertaken because of recommendations by the National Monuments Service.
The site lay outside the original city walls in a suburb that probably began to develop before 1500. The River Corrib is adjacent to the south-east site boundary.
The single trench, excavated by machine, was orientated north-west/south-east and was 55.3m long, 1.1–2.4m wide (average width 1.2m) and 1.5–2.5m deep. It was begun at 5.9m south-east of the boundary wall of the existing premises and 5m from the north-east boundary of the site. At the north-west end of the trench the water table was encountered at 1.2m deep. Therefore the excavation ceased at 2.5m along the length of the trench and moved a further 2m to the south-east before resuming.
The stratigraphy encountered consisted of a rubble fill (0.2–1.2m thick) below which was topsoil (0.5–1m thick) and a black, organic deposit (0.2–1.5m thick). Below the topsoil along the final 9m of the trench at its south-east end was found a second rubble fill (1m thick). Below the black, organic deposit was a sterile, yellow marl/clay and bedrock, visible at the base of the trench.
The rubble fill and topsoil contained modern artefacts. The black, organic deposit contained animal bone fragments, oyster shells and a small number of modern and post-medieval pottery sherds. The second rubble fill contained red/yellow brick. Six modern wall foundations of a building just demolished on site crossed the trench.
The stratigraphy encountered during this test excavation was indicative of modern and post-medieval use of this site. The artefacts recovered testify to this. No features were in evidence.
Purcell House, Oranmore, Co. Galway
