2008:553 - Newcastle, Galway, Galway

Testing was carried out at Newcastle, Galway, in July 2008. The proposed development involves the construction of a new Engineering Building with associated Energy Centre within the grounds of NUIG campus, Galway. The subject area is close to a number of monuments including GA082–038, a 16th-century church, and GA082–039, a dovecote.
Testing began on 21 July and continued over a five-day period using a 16-tonne excavator with grading bucket. Seven trenches were excavated throughout the area, with a cumulative length of 550m. Trenches 1–3 were located in a carpark to the west of Arus Moyola and the NUIG Business School. Trench 4 ran parallel to Trenches 1–3 and was located in a greenfield space to the east of a pedestrian path along the riverside. Trenches 5–7 were located in a landscaped green space to the north of the site, beside a portacabin building.
Testing resulted in the discovery of one notable stray find, a Bronze Age halberd, retrieved from Trench 3 to the east of the existing carpark. This trench measured c. 53m in length by 2m in width and was excavated to an average depth of 1m. The stratigraphy along the length of this trench consisted of an upper layer of tarmac and hardcore (0.4m) on a mixed silty deposit with frequent small to medium-sized stones (0.35m) overlying a thick layer of peat. The peat contained some modern finds including brick, willow pottery sherds and fragments of ceramic pipe. As in Trenches 1 and 2 there were a number of French drains backfilled, with angular cobble-sized stones cutting through the peat. At a point 15m from the northern terminal a metal object was retrieved at a depth of 0.92m from the existing surface. The object was identified as a Bronze Age halberd dating from the second millennium bc. This weapon would have been mounted at right angles to a haft using rivets. The blade, probably made from copper, was shaped like a thorn and measured 160mm in length by 110.5mm along its butt. It had a central ridge tapering to a point along its blade and near the butt were two centrally placed circular perforations with evidence for three rivet holes along its back edge. A small section of the upper butt was missing. On discovery, permission was granted to enlarge the immediate area around the findspot by a further 3m to the east and 2m to the west; consent was also granted to metal-detect the area and spoil heap for associated finds (licence 08R212). Over the course of a two-day period this area was manually investigated and metal-detected, resulting in the recovery of the missing piece from the butt of the halberd. The halberd was handed over to the National Museum for immediate conservation.
Elsewhere throughout the site other than a number of relatively modern French drains no features or finds of archaeological significance were noted.