County: Westmeath Site name: MILLTOWN PASS
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 33:19 Licence number: 01E0600
Author: Michael Tierney, Eachtra Archaeological Projects
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 650240m, N 743724m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.441211, -7.243808
Testing was carried out in advance of a proposed development at Milltown Pass. The proposed development included three apartment blocks at the back of farm and shop buildings facing onto the main Dublin–Galway road in the village. The main reason cited for the archaeological condition was the proximity of the project to the site of a castle, SMR 33:19. No remains of the castle are visible, which was also the case recorded in Ordnance Survey records in the 19th century. Work was carried out in an adjacent field by John Tierney and Áine Richardson (see No. 1278, Excavations 2001, 01E0599) and no archaeological remains were found.
Five trenches were excavated across the site, now mostly used as a farmyard. It was covered in concrete and there were a number of buildings in situ which had been constructed in the 1980s. The trenches varied in length from 32m to 44m and were c. 1m wide. The stratigraphic profile was consistent across the site. The natural lay 0.4–0.5m beneath the surface and was overlain by 0.2–0.3m of very dark brown silty clay. This was followed by either a sod layer or gravel infill and concrete floors.
No archaeological remains were found.
9 Riveroaks, Riverstown, Birr, Co. Offaly
