County: Louth Site name: BALRIGGAN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 03E0159
Author: Shane Delaney, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd.
Site type: Industrial site
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 702776m, N 810068m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.029555, -6.431257
A survey of Scotch Green Mill (Balriggan 5 and 6/Site 118) was undertaken as part of the archaeological mitigation for the Dundalk Western Bypass. The site comprised part of a mill, millpond and associated millrace, although most of this structure lies outside the proposed road-take.
The millrace is roughly 850m in length, with the mill located in the approximate centre. A series of structures, including an iron grid (to stop floating logs entering the channel), a weir and a very large sluice arrangement, still exists at the take-off point 'tongue'. Approximately 140m of the millrace lies within the lands made available, upstream from the mill. The millrace has dried up and is heavily overgrown. Four trenches were excavated across the millrace on 19 May 2003. These revealed little new information, indicating a peaty build-up over a gravel bed. According to anecdotal evidence, the millrace was put out of commission in the last 30-50 years.
The building remains and millrace were cleared of vegetation and the outline of the double millrace structure was recorded.
8 Dungar Terrace, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
