2010:665 - River Shannon, Athlone, Westmeath

Moore Marine Services was commissioned by Martin Fitzpatrick of Arch Consultancy Ltd to carry out an underwater impact assessment of a proposed pipeline crossing of the River Shannon in Athlone, Co. Westmeath. The assessment is a component of the larger Athlone main drainage scheme (Stage 3) and Mr Fitzpatrick has been appointed consultant archaeologist for Westmeath County Council for the overall project. The impact assessment comprised the combination of a desktop assessment of the archaeological and historical background to the site and a visual and metal-detection survey of the pipeline route and its immediate vicinity.
The desktop assessment concluded that the potential for works to impact on archaeology in the River Shannon in Athlone is high. The town was a significant fording point on the river and the river itself has been a major communication thoroughfare since prehistoric times. Testament to this fact is the number of artefacts recovered from the river.
The visual and metal-detection surveys were undertaken on 20 May 2010. A large quantity of modern material was noted during the survey, which included car tyres, traffic cones, a beer keg and an outboard engine. Only one feature of possible archaeological significance was noted, a single vertical wooden post. This feature was noted in the deep navigation channel on the western side of the river. The visible component comprised a small section of rounded timber emerging c. 0.15m from the marl riverbed. The exact nature of the timber was not discernible as only a small section was exposed. Inspection of the surrounding area concluded that there were no other visible associated timbers.
Based on the results of the impact assessment, it would appear that there is potential for the project to impact on possible archaeology.