2004:1504 - CARROWNANTY, Sligo

Testing and monitoring were carried out along the line of a proposed new water main in the vicinity of Ballymote Castle in late September and early October 2004. The route is located in the grounds of the Western Health Board and runs near to the castle. The water main will service a proposed residential development that is under construction on a large greenfield site to the south. Testing comprised the excavation of eight trenches along the route of the proposed water main. A tracked excavator fitted with a wide toothless bucket was retained to open the trenches. The trenches were located at 15m intervals and each was 5m in length. Grey/brown silt topsoil, averaging 0.3m in thickness, directly overlay mottled yellow/brown and grey clayey/silty sand subsoil in most of the excavated trenches. The composition of the topsoil varied considerably as a result of previous groundworks when the site was laid out as a public park. Underlying the topsoil in Trenches 3 and 4 was a layer of redeposited soil, 0.3-0.5m in thickness, which was clearly imported to raise the ground level in what was obviously a wet, low-lying part of the site. A sticky deposit of light-grey/brown clayey silt, indicative of waterlogging, overlay the subsoil in this area. This deposit also formed the fill of two irregular cuts, probably old land drains. No archaeological material was discovered during testing or subsequent monitoring of trench excavations for the water main.