County: Mayo Site name: BALLINROBE: Abbey Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 118:22 Licence number: 99E0400
Author: Gerry Walsh
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 519340m, N 764716m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.626042, -9.219367
Pre-development testing was undertaken on the site of a proposed development off Abbey Street, Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo. The site is within the zone of archaeological importance for the medieval town of Ballinrobe. Four test-trenches were excavated by machine within the proposed development site.
Trench 1 measured 35m x 1.5m. The stratigraphy consisted of a sod/garden topsoil layer 0.27m thick directly overlying a natural, silty gravel.
Trench 2 measured 35m x 1.5m. At the western end of the trench a garden topsoil 0.3m thick directly overlay a stony topsoil 0.45m thick, which produced some modern glass and white-glazed pottery. The stony topsoil directly overlay a natural, orange boulder clay. Midway along the trench the garden topsoil 0.84m thick directly overlay a natural, orange boulder clay. At the eastern end of the trench the sod and stony topsoil 0.3m thick directly overlay a natural, orange boulder clay.
Trench 3 measured 10m x 1.5m. Approximately 0.1m depth of garden topsoil had been stripped from this area and replaced by a layer of stone (0.15m thick) by the developer. At the northern end of the trench the natural bedrock directly underlay this stone layer. In the remainder of the trench underlying the builder's stone layer was a layer of large boulders and stone fill up to 1.3m thick. This is of relatively recent origin and may have come from the dredging of the adjacent River Robe. Directly underlying the boulder layer was the natural limestone bedrock and in places a natural, orange boulder clay.
Trench 4 measured 30m x 1.5m. At the western end of the trench the garden topsoil 0.2m thick directly overlay a sheet of natural limestone bedrock midway along the trench a redeposited natural boulder clay 0.15m thick directly underlay the garden topsoil. An old sod layer 0.21m thick, which produced some tin and plastic, directly underlay the redeposited boulder clay. Underlying the old sod layer was a light brown clay 0.55m thick, which produced some modern glass. The light brown clay directly overlay a natural, orange boulder clay. At the eastern end of the trench a light brown, sticky clay 0.8m thick directly underlay the garden topsoil. This sticky clay, which directly overlay the natural limestone bedrock and in places a white, silty gravel, produced some modern white-glazed and Willow Pattern pottery.
No archaeological features or finds were recovered from any of the trenches.
An examination of all the other areas on the site where construction work had taken place produced no evidence of any archaeological features or finds.
Rathbawn Road, Castlebar, Co. Mayo
