County: Mayo Site name: BALLYHAUNIS SEWERAGE SCHEME
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0032
Author: Martin E. Byrne
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 549018m, N 779800m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.765304, -8.773256
Monitoring of groundworks associated with the Ballyhaunis Sewerage Scheme Project was undertaken on various dates from late January to early October 1998. It had been recommended by NMHP, Dúchas, that all ground disturbance associated with the development be monitored, under licence, by an archaeologist. However, the area encompassing the proposed wastewater treatment plant, site compound and access road were subjected to topsoil-stripping and general ground-surface reductions in September 1997 without archaeological involvement.
The project provided for the construction of a new sewage pumping station and storm storage tank on Clare Street, a new wastewater treatment works at Abbeyquarter, sewers to direct flow to the pumping station and a rising main to the wastewater treatment works. The project also included the construction of surface water sewers, watermains and ducts on Clare Street, Main Street, Knox Street and Bridge Street. The construction of an advance section of the Ballyhaunis Water Supply Augmentation Scheme was also included in the project brief.
All streetworks were to take place on the western side of the town, with the treatment works situated on the southern side.
In general both the rising main to and the outfall from the treatment works were laid in green-field contexts, with the remaining works situated along existing roads and streets. The groundworks were generally confined to the required width of the pipeline trenches. However, a layer of peat, with a maximum thickness of c. 1.4m, was revealed by trial-trenching along the length of Clare Street and in the area of the pumping station. It was subsequently decided that the peaty layer would be removed along the entire street, footpath edge to footpath edge, from its junction with Bridge Street/Main Street to the outermost extent of the scheme. In all other areas it was revealed that previous roadworks had truncated the surface of the subsoil.
The only features of note uncovered during the scheme were stone culverts running south-east across Clare Street and down Main Street. No other features or finds of interest were revealed during the course of the work.
39 Kerdiff Park, Monread, Naas, Co. Kildare
