County: Waterford Site name: GRACEDIEU WEST (N25 Waterford Bypass, Contract 1, Site 8)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 02E0317
Author: Deirdre Murphy, ACS Ltd.
Site type: Habitation site and Field system
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 656897m, N 613558m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.270773, -7.166344
Site 8 was initially identified following the environmental impact statement as an area of high archaeological potential after an examination of the topographical nature of the scheme. The area was in the townland of Gracedieu West, on a gentle, north-facing slope overlooking the River Suir, and potentially contained the remains of human settlement. The site extended from Chainage 9300 to 9800. An assessment was carried out from 2 to 4 April 2002. This involved machine-assisted trial-trenching along the centre-line of the road, with eighteen perpendicular offsets at intervals of 30m on alternate sides.
Two fields were assessed. Small features, including a hearth, a pit, three spreads, furrows, field drains and a field boundary, were scattered over the entire site and were generally isolated. The field boundary ditch encountered at Chainage 9555 in the centre-line trench and an offset trench was evident on the 1842 edition OS 6-inch map. Before testing of this site a geophysical survey was undertaken. This failed to identify areas of archaeological potential, including the archaeological activity found by excavation.
Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth
