2003:2204 - GALWAY, Galway

Monitoring was undertaken by Declan Moore and then the author along the route of the Broadband Network for Galway City and Oranmore. The development entails approximately 47km of ducting and chambers, with trench depths of c. 0.9m and widths of up to 1m, to facilitate the construction of the broadband network. The development also entails the construction of a pedestrian footbridge at Wolfe Tone Bridge, to facilitate the widening of the existing carriageway and to facilitate future services underneath the proposed footbridge, specifically the broadband network.

Eyre Square
At the southern end of Eyre Square, a short section of rough foundation material and the foundation cut of a possible medieval wall approximately 0.5m in depth were observed. The wall had been disturbed in the recent past by earlier services. A fragment of a spandrel was recovered from the top of the foundation material, which was primarily made up of roughly rounded stones. It was not possible to ascertain a precise width, as it extended into the section and had been severely disturbed and truncated.

During advance engineering test-trenching at the north end of Eyre Square, a layer of rough, probably 19th-century, cobbling was observed. A second layer of earlier cobbles was also subsequently uncovered. The surfaces were cleaned and recorded prior to removal. The upper cobbles were located at a depth of approximately 0.2m and extended throughout the test-trench. After excavation, another, earlier, deposit of rough cobbling was observed. This layer was located at a depth of approximately 0.4m and extended throughout the test-trench. Roughly 0.5m to the west, a probable edge was defined. It is not clear whether this edge is a result of earlier disturbance or if it defines the edge of a cobbled area.

During subsequent construction works, several areas of disturbed rough cobbling were observed on the east side of Eyre Square. In general the stratigraphy consisted of tarmacadam and modern road fill overlying mixed stony fill material and a yellow-brown sand, which in turn overlay a mid- to dark-brown sandy silt.

At intervals, particularly at the northern end of Eyre Square, a dark-brown peaty organic layer was encountered at the base of excavations. This deposit contained frequent inclusions of shell and animal bone and resembled the stratum in which two inhumations were observed (see No. 718, Excavations 2003, 03E0601, for excavation by Declan Moore). A number of samples of this deposit along with animal bone and shell remains were retained for analysis. On the northern side of the square the upper levels are generally disturbed, but, at a depth of c. 8–1.1m, the dark organic layer with frequent animal bone and shell probably represents a medieval or early postmedieval build-up of material. This becomes more prominent towards the north-eastern corner of the square, where it may be associated with a pond shown on John Speed’s 1651 map of Galway.

To the west, advance trial-trenching on Williamsgate Street revealed significant amounts of shell and animal bone. This material was again confined to the darker organic layer and probably represents the medieval or post-medieval build-up.

Forster Street
Along Forster Street, tarmacadam and modern road fill to a depth of 0.6m overlay c. 0.3–0.4m of a lightbrown sandy clay layer, which in turn overlay a midto dark-brown clayey sand. Occasionally services were encountered crossing the trench. An area of larger stone was encountered directly underlying the tarmac at the junction with the link road to Lough Atalia Road. This deposit overlay a mid-brown to greyish silty clay containing some animal bone, shell and brick at the base of the trench. Only c. 0.5m of this deposit was removed. No finds were recovered from it. This area measured a total of c. 30m in length.

Merchants’ Road
To establish the ducting route on Merchants’ Road, a programme of test-trenches commenced on 4 June. Trenches were inserted in the south traffic lane of the road, the parking and loading bays, and across the northern pathway. Three trenches, located approximately mid-way up Merchants’ Road in the parking and loading bays, revealed walls that were possibly medieval in date. Subsequent trenching along Merchants’ Road revealed further sections of this wall.

Two trenches c. 45–50m apart revealed the same wall running parallel to the edge of the existing road 0.7m from the kerb. In the most easterly trench, the wall was still in good condition, with three courses still intact. The wall was 0.44m wide and ran the width of the trench, c. 0.54m. The same wall was again revealed in a trench c. 45–50m to the east, but it had previously been disturbed by groundworks and only survived to one course.

A second wall was also located in a test-trench further west. This wall was not part of the same structure located in the east trenches and appeared to be medieval in date. It was located 0.3m below present ground level, 1.34m from the north kerb of the road. It had been badly damaged by the insertion of earlier services. The remaining section consisted of three courses of large blocks with a coarse mortar bond. The wall also had an outward batter.

During trenching, several more sections of this wall were exposed. The walls exposed along the northern edge of Merchants’ Road appear to correspond to garden walls that are featured in the 1651 Pictorial Map of Galway. These garden walls, known as Cluid na ngarraithe (the garden angle), were found to the south of the town defences and enclosed cultivated square plots. The marshland adjacent to the gardens was gradually reclaimed and built upon and various premises were erected outside the old town wall in increasing numbers after 1779, when Merchants’ Road was laid out.

Spanish Arch
In the vicinity of the Spanish Arch it was proposed to excavate a c. 0.7m-deep trench running from a point north of the Long Walk, along the road passing Nimmo’s Restaurant in the direction of the Spanish Arch and continuing along the quayside towards Wolfe Tone Bridge. During the course of construction works in the vicinity of the Spanish Arch on September 2003 a substantial wall foundation was exposed running across the line of the broadband trench. It is located in a green space to the rear of the south-western wall of the Spanish Arch and north of Nimmo’s Restaurant at a depth of 0.3m below present ground level. It is generally aligned with the quay wall, running perpendicular to the Spanish Arch, and measures 1.2m east–west by an exposed length of 1.25m by 0.6m in height. The wall consists of a single course of roughly faced, randomly coursed granite boulders with an internal rubble fill of stone and mortar. A stone plinth abutting the wall runs along its western edge. The plinth stones measured, on average, 0.4m in length. A limestone slab was found to the east of the wall. This section of wall was previously exposed by Anne Connolly (Excavations 1997, No. 208, 97E0014) and was covered with a layer of terram and backfilled with stone chippings. It was interpreted as an original section of the medieval quayside.

Three trenches were manually excavated in September 2003 underneath the Spanish Arch to facilitate the installation of the broadband cable. Two excavated under the arch measured approximately 0.8m2 and were dug to a depth of 0.5m. A minimum clearance of 0.4m was required for the cable installation. Trench 1 was located at the southern limit of the arch and exposed paving slabs 0.08m thick on a sandy bed 10mm in depth overlying an old road surface. At a depth of 0.35m an unmarked water main was uncovered running north–south under the arch towards the fish market. The cut for the main was backfilled with sandy gravel. Four modern finds, including one pottery sherd and a clay-pipe fragment, were retrieved from this trench. Trench 2 was located in a central position under the arch 2.5m north of Trench 1. Excavations exposed the same upper levels as previously recorded and, more significantly, at a depth of 0.43m, a wall foundation running east–west across the archway. The wall was in relatively good condition and was exposed to a single course. It was constructed of roughly hewn limestone blocks with a heavily mortared rubble core, measured 0.9m in width and was exposed over a length of 0.7m. Given the depth of the wall, it was possible to install the cable ducts over the feature without any direct impact. The wall was covered in a protective terram membrane and sandbed.

Paul Walsh, in his article on the topography of the town of Galway in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods in Galway, History and Society (p. 49), notes that the present-day Spanish Arch was developed by breaching the town wall in 1688 to allow access to a new pier. At the time, the Corporation were reclaiming much of this area and construction work was undertaken to convert a stone jetty featured on the Pictorial Map linking the Spanish Arch with the rock known as The Crow’s Rock to a more formal quayside. Feature I, running east–west in line with the town wall, may well have been an internal wall associated with the tower that was demolished as part of this development.

Six mechanically excavated engineering testtrenches were opened along the quayside of the Spanish Parade fish market, running north–south from the archway in the direction of the Wolfe Tone Bridge. They averaged 3m in length east–west by 0.2m and were dug to an average depth of 0.6m. Trenching uniformly exposed modern redeposited fills consisting of construction rubble in a sandy matrix with medium amounts of brick and pockets of charcoal and ash. Trench 1, located on a grassy verge 8m to the north-west of the arch, was the only trench with an extant feature. This cobbled surface was uncovered 0.45m below present ground level at the base of the trench. The cobbles survived in a fragmentary condition and were constructed of water-rolled sub-rounded limestones in a sandy matrix. The cobbles were too deep to be affected by trenching works and were covered by terram and sand and subsequently backfilled.

Eglinton Street
During construction works at Eglinton Street in September 2003, a short section of roughly east–westaligned masonry was observed c. 0.5m beneath modern ground level. The masonry may represent the remains of a wall foundation. In plan, it is 0.8m in width (north–south) and is comprised of (on the southern side) a single course of rubble stone with occasional evidence of mortar measuring 0.3m in depth. At the northern side there are three rubble courses. The possible foundation is in very poor condition with a central cavity. To the east and west, the stratigraphy was uniform, consisting of tarmac and hardcore overlying a compact, gravelly, grey clay. The wall rests on the natural clay.

The possible foundation is located roughly in the centre of Eglinton Street in Galway city centre. It is located approximately halfway along the street, roughly 25m south of the location of the Lions Tower, as described by Miriam Clyne. Previous monitoring along Eglinton Street carried out by Declan Moore indicated that the line of the city wall is probably 3–4m west of the wall recorded by Billy Quinn. The city wall runs roughly north–south at this location, diagonally across Eglinton Street. The wall described above certainly does not represent a section of city wall. However, given that it is roughly at right angles to the city wall (although it is not possible to conclude this for certain, as the city wall has not been recorded along this stretch of Eglinton Street), it may represent foundation material for a roughly constructed feature external to the medieval city.

Monitoring of trackwork in Eglinton Street on 17 June 2003 exposed a substantial wall foundation opposite the GPO public bar and restaurant. This area is of known archaeological potential, due to its proximity to the Lions Tower. Further work in September revealed a second stretch of the city wall directly below the tarmac and hardcore surface at a depth of 0.2m and consisting of a heavily mortared limestone rubble-built foundation. It was exposed on one side only, to a depth of 0.5m over two courses, and had a rough, partially damaged face. A noticeable batter was observed on the outer face of the wall in the September cutting. It is estimated that the wall measured 3m in width and traversed Eglinton Street from the north-west to the south-east, towards the Lions Tower.

Discussions resulted in the redirection of the proposed trench, thus avoiding any direct impact. The wall was recorded and covered in terram prior to backfilling.

At the time of writing, excavation works for the development are nearing completion.

Corporate House, Ballybrit Business Park, Ballybrit, Galway