County: Roscommon Site name: ROSCOMMON: Circular Road
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 05E0918
Author: Martin E. Byrne, Byrne Mullins & Associates
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 587750m, N 765127m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.635797, -8.185228
Planning permission for a commercial/retail/office development at Circular Road, Roscommon, included a condition requiring that the site be tested. The site is located on the southern side of Circular Road, on the southern extent to the commercial area of Roscommon town. The southern area of the site was under grass, while the northern area comprised a former garage/filling station with associated vehicle inspection pits, underground tanks, services and concrete yard/parking area. In addition, the site also comprised a small warehouse, used as a tyre depot. This business had an attached compound surfaced in gravel/hardcore.
A portion of the northern area of the site lies within the zone of archaeological potential established around Roscommon town (SMR 39:43). The remains of the Dominican friary (SMR 39:55) lie c. 200m to the south-west and the former surface remains of a possible earthwork (SMR 39:88) are c. 150m to the west. Nothing of archaeological interest was uncovered by the writer during the testing of a site to the immediate north-east of the subject site (Excavations 2002, No. 1622, 02E0798).
Five trenches were excavated by machine within the southern greenfield area of the site. These revealed a layer of modern rubble fill, which was, in places, up to c. 0.8m in depth. Below this was a c. 0.11m thickness of peat which lay upon a very soft layer of creamy sandy silt. Nothing of archaeological interest was uncovered.
7 Cnoc na Gréine Square, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare
