County: Leitrim Site name: CARRICK-ON-SHANNON: Bridge Street, Townparks
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 31:5 Licence number: 01E0332
Author: Christopher Read, North West Archaeological Services
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 594385m, N 799543m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.945188, -8.085522
Pre-development testing and later monitoring of a pub/restaurant development took place at Bridge Street in the centre of the town. The site is within the zone of archaeological potential for the post-medieval town.
Three test-trenches were excavated as part of the initial testing. Two revealed deep (2m+) deposits of dumped organic matter, including decayed wood and copious amounts of 19th-century rubbish, crockery and glass. The third trench revealed a stone surface comprising large slabs that may have been of archaeological significance, at a depth of 1m. While the excavation of this stone feature and monitoring of the remainder of the development were recommended, the developer changed the design to avoid the stone surface. The monitoring of the remainder of the excavation revealed substantial deposits (3m+) of waterlogged organic soils full of crockery and red brick throughout. The presence of these deposits indicates an 18th/19th-century attempt to raise ground levels in this part of the town and explains the subsidence of the building that used to the stand on this site. No materials considered archaeological in nature were uncovered during the excavation. The stone surface identified during the testing was not encountered during later excavation.
Cloonfad Cottage, Cloonfad, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim
