2005:1278 - MONAGHAN, Monaghan

Monitoring of excavations associated with the North East Broadband project in Monaghan town was carried out from January to July 2005. The excavation phase of the project involved the opening of a series of trenches throughout the town centre and its surrounding infrastructure. All of the trenches were located along roads, either in the carriageway proper or the adjoining verge or footpath. The trenches were 0.6m wide and excavated to a standard depth of 0.9m in carriageways and 0.6m in verges/footpaths. Junction boxes (1.25m2) were excavated where two or more trenches intersected, and at regular intervals along long straight sections. The standard method of opening the trenches was to cut the asphalt road surface with a circular saw and remove the soil using small tracked excavators. All trenches excavated within the zone of potential around the historic town and within the area of constraint around three monuments (SMR 9:38, 9:44 and 9:61) were subject to full-time monitoring. All works outside these areas were subject to intermittent monitoring.

Pre-development testing was carried out at Church Square in the vicinity of St Patrick’s Church and the site of the medieval Franciscan friary. Burials associated with the friary have been uncovered in this area on three separate occasions, the first being prior to 1815, the second during improvement works in the square in 1940, and more recently by Margaret McCarthy, in 2003 (Excavations 2003, No. 1492, 03E1672). No archaeological material was uncovered during testing, but some disarticulated human bone was found at Church Square during subsequent monitoring of excavations. The bone was contained within a redeposit of black silty clay, which directly underlay the road construction layers. The minimum number of individuals for this small assemblage was three. Furthermore, a human skull was uncovered on the interface between the subsoil and the overlying redeposit at a depth of c. 1m. It was located c. 10m west of the double-gated entrance to St Patrick’s Church. The skull was facing east and had collapsed inwards, with the facial bones becoming lodged in the cranial cavity. The mandible was not present and no other bones from this skeleton were evident. No grave cut was discernible, but the possibility that the skull represented articulated remains was not precluded. Following consultations with the relevant authorities, it was decided that the remains should be preserved in situ and an appropriate mitigation strategy was agreed.

Unit 3, Howley Court, Oranmore, Co. Galway