2008:1232 - Kilmacthomas, Waterford

Monitoring was carried out over a period of six months at Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford, during upgrade works on the water and sewage supply for the town. The scope of the works involved the insertion of a rising main and outfall pipe from the proposed wastewater treatment plant site at the southern end of the town along Tech Road, Main Street, High Road, Well Road and Convent Road. The overall length of the rising main and the outfall pipe was 3km and the trench reached an average depth of 2m. The project involved the construction of foul and storm sewers, works at storm culverts and storm outfalls, interceptor chambers, ducting and the provision of connections to the new scheme. Most trenching was along the existing road and street network and primarily within areas that had previously been disturbed during the installation of the earlier sewage system for the town. Some pipeline installation was undertaken along the edge of the riverbank at the site of the proposed wastewater treatment plant. Made ground consisting of redeposited glacial till with some modern finds including glass, brick and plastic was encountered where previous work on pipe installation had been carried out. In undisturbed greenfield areas, cohesive glacial deposits were exposed. The majority of the excavations within the town were in made ground, with undisturbed glacial soils and bedrock being recorded in certain locations at depths of over 1m. An archaeological presence was maintained for the duration of the works and no features or finds of significance were encountered.