County: Clare Site name: RIVER SHANNON, Ballyvally
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 00E314, 00D020, 00R069
Author: Niall Brady, for Archaeological Diving Company Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 568531m, N 674091m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.816872, -8.466834
In advance of a private development project for a new marina on the River Shannon in Ballyvally townland, Killaloe, Co. Clare, a programme of hand-coring was undertaken within the existing flood-plain in association with an underwater inspection and metal-detector survey of the adjacent stretch of riverbed. No objects or features of archaeological interest were observed.
Six hand-cores were taken along the proposed line of the new channel that is to be excavated across the flood-plain into the existing river. The depths achieved varied from 1.63m to 2.67m. The data indicated a natural stratigraphy of peat, marl and riverbed deposits commensurate with periodic inundations to be expected on a flood-plain.
The underwater survey covered an area c. 70m long by 40m wide. It reached c. 30m upstream and c. 30m downstream of the point where the new channel will enter the river and extended out into the river to the foot of a dredged slope that defines the navigable channel. Fifteen metal-detector hits were recorded within the survey area. Where inspection showed the metal on the riverbed, it was modern debris.
2 Vale Terrace, Lower Dargle Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow
