2011:177 - BALDONNELL, Dublin

The Dublin Region Watermain Rehabilitation Project is an initiative intended to tackle the high level of water leakage from within the water distribution network. The project will seek to identify those areas of watermain infrastructure yielding the greatest sustainable water savings throughout the Greater Dublin Region (GDR). The GDR for the purposes of the project consists of the county council areas of Dublin City, Fingal, South Dublin, Dun Laoghaire–Rathdown and parts of Kildare and Wicklow. To date, the project has recommended mains in 55 District Metered Areas (DMAs) for rehabilitation.
On the basis of the techniques which were to be used, a series of five scenarios for determining the level of monitoring were agreed with the City Archaeologist and the National Monuments Service. In March 2009 these scenarios were reviewed and amended on the basis of the results of the monitoring on this project to date. As a result of this review, only two scenarios necessitated archaeological attendance. In Scenario 1, where open-cut trench excavation is carried out within 30m of RMP/within ZAP, full-time monitoring is required if there is no existing main within the trench; intermittent monitoring is required where the trench is excavated over an existing main. The second scenario requiring monitoring is Scenario 5: where any excavation technique is to be used within 10m of a National Monument, full-time monitoring is required.
There are five recorded monuments within the Baldonnell DMA. Two of these are located within 30m of areas that were to be subjected to watermains rehabilitation (DU021-006 and DU021-034). Protected structures located within, or bordering, the Baldonnell DMA include Saggart House, Tassagart tower-house, Saggart Lodge, Saggart cemetery, the mill wall and gates on Mill Road, the Old Forge Bed & Breakfast, the limestone church, tower and drinking trough in Saggart, Saggart Catholic church, the former paper mill, a farmhouse on Castle Road, the millpond and tail-race in Saggart village, the former schoolhouse, the millpond and aqueducts on Castle Road and the stone bridge on Castle Road. In Baldonnell several buildings associated with Casement Aerodrome are protected, as are the two Baldonnell Houses.
An archaeological presence was required for the monitoring of works in this DMA from 8 August until 6 September 2011. The works that formed part of the Baldonnell DMA consisted of monitoring in Saggart village (DU021-034).
The process of rehabilitation involved the excavation of a new trench for a new pipe (new-lay) along Garters Lane and Mill Road. The upper tarmac layer was broken by machine and the trenches were excavated by a mechanical excavator of either JCB type or a smaller ‘mini-digger’-type excavator.
The works commenced at the junction of Garters Lane and Mill Road and continued south along Mill Road for approximately 250m to the entrance of the Slade Castle housing estate. The junction was very disturbed, with electricity ducts, gas, water and sewerage pipes. Along Mill Road there were some services but the stratigraphy generally consisted of tarmac and hardcore overlying natural soils. The natural was bright yellow and extremely compact, containing frequent large boulders. The subsoil was less compact and contained less boulders as the trench moved away from the village. The trench running along Garters Lane ran from the junction to the entrance to the City North Hotel. Along this line tarmac and hardcore overlay very compact subsoil which contained large boulders.
No archaeological features, deposits or artefacts were revealed during the archaeological monitoring of these groundworks.

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