County: Westmeath Site name: Clonmore/Ballinderry/Mullingar/Springfield/Robinstown
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 08E0519
Author: James Hession, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd, 27 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
Site type: Monitoring
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 643381m, N 752022m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.516389, -7.345885
The Mullingar sewerage improvement scheme consists of the construction of a main interceptor sewer that extends from the existing Clonmore wastewater treatment plant located to the south of the town, through the zone of archaeological potential of Mullingar town (WM019–089) and onwards to Robinstown. The proposed interceptor sewer through the town centre will be constructed at depths ranging from 4–10m; where the sewer is at depths greater than 5m it will most likely be tunnelled. Under the improvement scheme a proportion of the existing core sewers in the town centre will be upgraded and a number of new outlying sewers will be constructed.
The scheme consists of two separate contracts: Contract 1 consists of the upgrading of the Clonmore wastewater treatment plant, the construction of a new pumping station facility and associated sewer pipeline works; Contract 2 consists of the construction of a main interceptor sewer extending from the aforementioned wastewater treatment plant through the zone of archaeological potential for Mullingar town to Robinstown, located to the north of the town.
Contract 1 of the scheme lies to the south-west of Mullingar town and was situated in the townlands of Clonmore, Mullingar and Ballinderry. The route of the pipeline extends for c. 1km traversing predominantly greenfield areas. The scope of the archaeological works involved the monitoring of ground disturbance during topsoil removal works and pipeline construction in areas stripped of topsoil.
Monitoring was carried out by the writer, with the assistance of Peter Kerins, for BAM Contractors Ltd on behalf of their client, Westmeath County Council, from 12 May 2008 to 5 January 2009. No features of archaeological significance were identified during the course of monitoring. The majority of the monitoring works took place within a narrow pipeline corridor, an area measuring c. 1km in length by 20m in length.
Contract 2 (currently ongoing) consists of the continuation of the main interceptor sewer from the Lynn Road pumping station through the zone of archaeological potential of Mullingar town to Robinstown, and traverses the townlands of Ballinderry, Mullingar, Springfield (or Spittlefield) and Robinstown. The works commenced on September 2008 and are due to be completed in 2010. Monitoring of topsoil removal and groundworks is currently being carried out along Contract 2 by the writer, with the assistance of Peter Kerins, for Pierse Contractors Ltd, on behalf of their client, Westmeath County Council.
