2006:1406 - Ballintober–Baunogues Group Water Scheme, Mayo

The Ballintober–Baunouges group water supply scheme involved pipelaying in the environs of Ballintober village, near Castlebar, Co. Mayo. The scheme was c. 13.1km long. The pipeline was confined to a narrow pipe trench and laid within undulating pastureland, low-lying marsh, existing roadway and roadside verge.
The landscape immediately around Ballintober is punctuated by outcropping limestone bedrock covered in a thin veneer of topsoil. The wider environs affected by this scheme are marked by glacial ridges aligned roughly north–south. A feature of the low ground between these ridges are zones of marginal pasture and deep bog. In many locations along the pipeline route land was previously disturbed by drainage, land reclamation, agricultural activity and local group water schemes.
As originally planned, the scheme impacted on the zone of archaeological constraint of three monuments: MA089–058 (1–12), ecclesiastical remains in Ballintober townland; MA089–043 (01–02), a cashel site in Glasgort townland and MA089–043 (01–02), church and earthworks in Cogaula townland. The potential impact of works on each of these sites was assessed and pipeline routes were altered or diverted to minimise impact on these monuments. No archaeological finds or features were found during monitoring.