County: Wexford Site name: Greatisland
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 12E0122
Author: Margaret McCarthy
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 668747m, N 614741m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.280046, -6.992503
Endessa Ireland Ltd. constructed a natural gas-fired Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) on the site of an existing power station in the townland of Great Island, Co. Wexford in 2012. The existing power plant is located to the immediate south of a medieval settlement complex consisting of two castles (WX039-028002, WX039-028003), an enclosure (WX039-028004) and a leper hospital (WX039-029005). The plant currently operates on heavy fuel oil and it comprises three units, all of which are at the end of their useful life span. The development site was predominantly brownfield and all works were located within the confines of the existing power plant which occupies an area of 58ha. Groundworks associated with the development were undertaken in three main areas: the entranceway and access road to the development site, a large area to the north-east of the existing power plant to be used for storage and an area of reclaimed ground to the immediate east of the existing plant where the new CCGT plant was constructed. Some of the compound area and the access road from the compound to the existing power plant had been prepared by Endessa Ireland Ltd. prior to the commencement of the major phase of groundworks at the site by Dragados Cobra Initec Joint Venture. The results of archaeological monitoring for the three areas are described below.
The entranceway and access road to compound
Topsoil removal commenced at a new entranceway created at the north-west corner of the plant. The access road extended from here along the northern boundary of the site towards the temporary compound. All topsoil and overburden was either stockpiled on the site or was used to construct earthen banks around the site boundaries. Across the site the topsoil varied in depth from 0.35m to 0.5m and it overlay the natural subsoil which consisted of friable orange/brown clay with small and medium sized stones. No features or deposits of archaeological merit were noted on the underlying surface.
Storage area at northern end of development
This area of the site had previously been planted with a considerable expanse of coniferous and deciduous trees. Its development as a storage area for the new power plant necessitated tree felling and the removal of a disturbed topsoil horizon to the natural clay. The area of the compound had previously been developed by Endessa Ireland Ltd. but a large area to the south was monitored. The preparation of the ground for tree plantation clearly caused significant damage to the soil horizons and trenching and subsequent mounding is likely to have obliterated any traces of archaeological features that may have been present. An archaeological presence was maintained for the entire duration of the works here and no features or finds of archaeological significance were uncovered in any of the investigated areas.
Area for new CCGT plant adjacent to the existing facility
The new CCGT plant was constructed to the immediate east of the existing facility in an area of infilled ground that has been subjected to considerable disturbance since the construction of the operational plant in the 1960s. The engineering test pits indicated that the infill measured between 2-3m in depth and this in turn overlay the natural bedrock. Monitoring was carried out on an intermittent basis in this area of the site given the very low risk of encountering deposits of archaeological significance. Nothing of archaeological significance was uncovered.
Rostellan, Midleton, Co. Cork
