2010:055 - Scotch Street, Armagh, Armagh

The proposed development is located within a pedestrian zone at the south-east end of Scotch Street, adjacent to the junction with Dobbin Street, in the city of Armagh and relates to the erection of a public sculpture. The city of Armagh is well known as an archaeological and historical settlement. The NISMR number ARM012–101 is an umbrella number that covers the core of the town including the area of the proposed development. In addition to this there are 23 recorded archaeological sites within a 1km radius of the proposed development, several of which lie within its immediate vicinity. These include the ecclesiastical site, Templenafertagh (ARM012–059), which is believed to be the site of St Patrick’s first church in Armagh and is located approximately 75m to the south-west of the proposed development.
In light of this, testing was carried out in relation to the proposed development on 11 February 2010. This testing comprised monitoring of the excavation of the footprint of the proposed sculpture. This revealed that the footprint had been previously disturbed by the laying of a metal water pipe which was located just above formation level which is 0.6m below existing ground level. This previous disturbance removed any archaeological features or deposits that may have existed and nothing of archaeological significance was uncovered.