2006:2029 - 10 Church Street, Athlone, Westmeath

A programme of test-trenching and subsequent monitoring was completed in advance of a proposed development at 10 Church Street, Athlone. The development involved refurbishment and internal alterations to the building that fronts on to Church Street, the demolition of return buildings to the rear and the construction of a three-storey development near to Preacher’s Lane. All archaeological material within the area of impact of the proposed development was fully resolved. The results of the archaeological works confirmed the historical and cartographic sources for the area. Evidence for a pool or watercourse (at 10.79m OD) and garden soils (at 10.87m OD) on the higher ground to the north-west dating to the medieval period were found, suggesting that the site was not developed at this time.
Early post-medieval (possibly 17th-century) consolidation layers and a cobbled surface in the rear yard of the property documented the urbanisation of this part of Athlone and the establishment of Church Street. Further evidence for domestic occupation dating to the 18th century was found. A number of standing stone and brick walls bounded the rear of the site near Preacher’s Lane, and these were fully surveyed. Human remains in the form of a single articulated foot (or at least the toe-bones of a foot) were encountered immediately below the rear yard of No. 10 Church Street below a modern brick-lined drain. These were fully excavated but their origin is unclear.