2008:1295 - Sinnottstown, Wexford

Monitoring of topsoil removal was undertaken during the course of construction work for a flavour manufacturing facility at Sinnottstown, Co. Wexford, in November and December 2008. The scope of the works involved monitoring the removal of all topsoil across a 15-acre greenfield site. The lands are located within the Wexford IDA Business and Technology Park c. 3km south of Wexford town.
The entire site was mechanically stripped of topsoil over a period of three weeks. All areas were excavated either to the level of the first potentially significant archaeological deposits or to the upper surface of the natural geology. Work in the first week involved the initial removal of topsoil around the area of the contractors’ compound at the south-east end of the site. A maximum depth of 0.4m of topsoil was removed by machine, revealing the upper surface of a natural drift deposit of mottled orange and grey sandy clay. The land in this area showed signs of having undergone considerable ground disturbance in recent times, since it was incorporated into the IDA Business and Technology Park, in preparation for development. Numerous broken glass bottles, sherds of modern delft and occasional butchered animal bones were encountered throughout these deposits, but no features or finds of archaeological significance were present.
The second week concentrated on stripping topsoil from the northern end of the site where the main manufacturing facility is currently being constructed. The soil profile did not vary considerably from that noted during the previous week, although there was notably less evidence for recent ground disturbance. The topsoil varied in depth from 0.25m to 0.42m and it was removed to reveal the same loose mottled orange/grey subsoil encountered at the compound site. Two drains of modern character were recorded. Both were aligned east–west and they measured c. 0.25–0.3m wide and 0.1–0.22m in depth. They contained narrow ceramic pipes and the trenches had been backfilled with jet-black gritty sediment containing substantial amounts of clinker and slag, representing residue from some type of nearby industrial activity. These drainage features are interpreted as deriving from the use of the site for agricultural purposes in the recent past. No other features or finds were identified during monitoring in this area of the development.
The final phase of monitoring focused on the area to the south and west of the main compound. A localised spread of surface burning containing shattered stone directly south of the compound represented burning of a field fence. Extreme weather conditions in what was essentially very wet marshy terrain made the recognition of potential archaeological features very difficult throughout this week. The topsoil here varied in depth from 0.32m to 0.38m and the underlying subsoil consisted of wet grey boulder clay. Occasional patches of white clay were noted on the surface but there was no definition at the edges to suggest that these represented archaeological features. The drainage system noted at the northern end of the site was also uncovered along the southern boundary, with an additional two field drains being exposed. These ran parallel to each other in a north–south direction for 25m and were c. 13m apart.
A collection of small flakes and fractured pebbles from flint-working was recovered from across the site. These were all found in the topsoil and there no significant concentrations were apparent in any part of the field. All represent waste from the initial stages of stone tool manufacture, with one possible finished piece in the shape of a scraper. The material is not diagnostic to any particular period of activity, although the recovery of a possible scraper indicates a later prehistoric or early medieval date.
Although significant arc