2007:617 - GALWAY: Ceannt Station, Galway

Testing was undertaken as part of an EIS on a site of 5.97ha (14.75 acres) at Ceannt Station, Galway city. The site lies largely within the zone of archaeological potential for Galway (GA094–100) but outside the medieval and post-medieval walled city. There is no known archaeological monument within the boundary of the site, but the site of St Augustine’s Fort (a 17th-century artillery bastion) is located on a low hill adjoining the south-west boundary of the site; this area is now occupied by a graveyard (Forthill cemetery).

Specific proposals for the redevelopment of the site were not available at the time of testing (May 2007). The site remains a functioning bus and railway station; consequently only limited areas were available for testing.

As a matter of safety and convenience for the ongoing use of the station, it was decided to excavate eight test-pits and eight boreholes in conjunction with engineering testing of the site. Live services had to be located by an open trench before each borehole could be placed. As a result, there were a total of sixteen cuttings; however, the cuttings for the boreholes only removed the modern surface and did not penetrate deeper.

The published reports on archaeological testing in the vicinity indicate that only a low density of post-medieval features occur in the area. Some of the published references referring to ‘post-medieval’ clearly refer to modern, i.e. mostly AD 1700–1900, when cross-referenced with the finds (Fitzpatrick et al. 2004).

In order to present the results of the testing in a coherent manner the site was divided into three.

Area A has been extensively scarped; i.e. the pre-existing ridge was levelled by at least 1m and possibly by as much as 3m in places. Beneath the modern tarmac/concrete/hardcore, etc., the underlying soil was natural boulder clay. There is unlikely to be any surviving material of archaeological significance in this area. The limits of this scarped ridge are estimated based on the historic maps and the results of the trial bores and test-pits. There is obviously an intermediate area on the sloping sides of the ridge by Borehole 9, where c. 1m of fill has been redeposited, probably to level up the sides of the slope.

In Area B as much as 5m of fill overlay the old ground levels at the north of the site (Borehole 5) where the railway terminus stands. The amount of introduced fill over the old soil horizon is less at the south (Test-pit 16, Trial-trench 2), where c. 1m of introduced fill covers the old ground. If material of archaeological importance is present, it lies at depths of 1–5m below the modern surface.

Area C was largely undisturbed by modern building and stands c. 2m higher than the railway yard (compound and train tracks). Here Borehole 4 indicates that c. 2.8m of redeposited clay overlies the buried soil horizon. The origin of this clay and the period of deposition have not been established. It is possible that the material was deposited when the railway terminus and lines were under construction in 1850 or it may be part of the late 17th-century defensive clay banks (redan) built as part of the Jacobite defences of Galway in 1689–90. The division between Areas A, B and C roughly correspond to the line of the ‘military pass’.

It was concluded that the likely impact of the restoration and refurbishment of existing buildings on the archaeological resource of the site would be negligible. The construction of new buildings, especially with basements, will remove existing ground levels. Impacts will vary from area to area within the site. Where no archaeological material is present (i.e. over most of Area A), impact will be negligible, as little or no archaeological material survives in the soil due to the levelling of the ridge in 1850. Buried archaeological material may occur deep within the ground over part of the site (Area B). This material lies between 1m and 5m below the modern surface. The undeveloped area of the site (Area C) is likely to contain some material of archaeological significance, possibly earthworks of late 17th-century date.

Reference
Fitzpatrick, E., O’Brien, M. and Walsh, P. (eds) 2004 Archaeological investigations in Galway city, 1987–1998.

6 Clarence Court, St Luke’s Cork