2006:800 - GALWAY: Kirwan’s Lane and Quay Street, Galway

Two test-trenches were excavated by hand as part of this programme of testing. The trenches were opened to assess the impact of a proposed Bord Gáis pipeline on two areas of archaeological significance. These were along a medieval street called Kirwan’s Lane and across the line of the medieval town wall at Quay Street. The first test-trench was opened at Kirwan’s Lane along the line of an earlier service trench. This service cut appears to correspond to the location of Eircom ducting that was laid 15–20 years ago without archaeological supervision. No features or deposits of archaeological significance were identified in this trench. The second test-trench was located outside Jury’s Inn on Quay Street. Although located across the line of the medieval town wall, no evidence of any archaeological deposits or features was found in this trench. Modern stone chippings were found to a depth of 1.2m. A large manhole that infringed on this test-trench was opened and this revealed a large east–west sewer pipe as well as smaller north–south sewer pipes leading from the larger sewer. It seems highly likely that the stone chipping deposits encountered at this location were related to the insertion of this extensive sewerage system.

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