2012:453 - Athboy, Meath

The works entailed Phase 2 of a Water Conservation Scheme within County Meath. Stage 1 of the project – Advanced Mains Rehabilitation Stage 1 – involves the replacement of c. 13.4km of existing watermains in various locations throughout the county. This report concerns works at Athboy. Monitoring of the scheme took place between 22 August and 11 September 2011 and exposed a number of features including two sections of kerbed cobbles on Main Street and a rich organic peaty deposit with leather fragments and animal bone near on O’Growney Street between The Courtyard and Connaught Street. No evidence, however, was found for the town defences along the projected site of the town wall. Monitoring of at O’Growney Street near the projected line of the town defences revealed an organic deposit which contained a sherd of late 18th-century mottled ware, a clay pipe stem fragment and 36 leather off-cuts all related to cobbling. The leather was in relatively good condition and included the upper portion of an insole with edge stitching and wedge-shaped piece and various off cuts. Other features included a layer of 19th-century cobbles and kerbing on Main Street. No further below-ground structural remains were identified.

Group, Ballybrit Business Park, Galway