2000:0842 - BOYLE CANAL PROJECT, Roscommon

This project involved the monitoring of ground disturbance associated with the development of the Boyle Canal, Co. Roscommon. The works, which were being carried out by Dúchas Waterways, involved the mechanical excavation of a mooring and navigable channel to facilitate the mooring of vessels closer to the town of Boyle. In the course of monitoring a burnt spread 12.3m by 8.5m was encountered and excavated (Excavations 1999, 267–8)

The year 2000 saw the excavation of the final stage of the canal where it joins with the Boyle River. At the eastern end of the project all digging was monitored, as the canal was veering around a small island feature of possible archaeological importance. However, nothing of archaeological significance was encountered in this area. A secondary drain to the east of this feature was widened to allow the free flow of water. A short wooden track was uncovered extending for the width of this drain. Constructed of unworked rounded timbers, c. 1.5m long, the trackway extended for a length of c. 2.6m. Large flat stones were laid on top of the timbers and functioned as the surface. The sections on either side of this were cleaned, and the area surrounding it was probed with poles, but the trackway did not extend beyond the limit of the drain. Local tradition suggests that it dates to the 19th/20th century and functioned as a dry route over the drain, giving access to the bog in the north-east. The widening of the existing drain did not remove the timbers, and they remain in situ. No further disturbance will be caused in this area.

The stratigraphy encountered elsewhere along the route of the canal usually consisted of marshy sod overlying topsoil, which in turn overlay either natural marl or peat.

Ballydavid South, Athenry, Co. Galway