2007:670 - Shop Street, Tuam, Kerry

Pre-development testing was carried out on 23 and 26 November 2007 at a site in Shop Street, Tuam, Co. Galway. The site was located within the constraint for the town of Tuam. The proposed development consisted of the demolition of a two-storey building connected to the rear and construction of a three-storey plus semi-basement extension to the rear of a retained front building, providing retail and office space. The front building was a protected structure described as a mid-18th-century four-bay, three-storey house with late 19th-century façade and 20th-century shop front.
Testing consisted of the excavation (by machine) of three trenches, which measured 4.1m, 9m and 11.8m long respectively, 1.1–1.7m wide and 0.75–1.9m deep. Below the concrete floor was loose fill above dark and grey/brown friable silt loam, redeposited subsoil and dark-brown/black peat, above grey loose loamy sand and orange/grey and cream-coloured firm (sandy) clay. The fill contained mortar, red and yellow brick fragments, modern pottery sherds (whiteware), mortar, occasional animal bone (including teeth), a clay-pipe stem, a clay-pipe bowl, occasional oyster shell, bits of plastic and a modern ceramic storm-water pipe. The silt loam contained modern pottery sherds, oyster shell fragments and occasional animal-bone fragments. The subsoil contained occasional charcoal flecks and two animal-bone fragments.
All features and deposits uncovered during the testing appeared to be modern. This site may originally have been marshy and as a result was filled up over the years.