County: Galway Site name: The Shambles, Vicar Street, Tuam
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 13E387
Author: Steven McGlade, Aileach Archaeology
Site type: Nineteenth-century features
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 543493m, N 751897m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.514088, -8.852328
A programme of archaeological monitoring was carried out for service trenching and upgrading works associated with the improvement of the surface car park at ‘The Shambles’, Vicar Street, Tuam, Co. Galway. The works were carried out on behalf of Galway County Council from November 2013 to January 2014. The site was located within the historic town of Tuam (RMP No. GA029-199-). The entrance to the new pedestrian access pathway to the west of the car park was within 10 metres of the early ecclesiastic enclosure and later medieval parish church of Temple Jarlath (RMP No. GA029-180-). The site has been used as an open space for a significant amount of time having acted as a shambles or open-air meat market in the 18th and 19th centuries and later a turf market.
Four 19th-century features were identified during the course of the monitoring works. The front wall of the building formerly fronting onto The Mall and Church Lane was identified. In the main car park three features were identified. In the north-west end of the car park a well-made stone-lined drain running roughly in line with the boundary was uncovered; a brick-lined feature with layered burnt remains, possibly part of a fireplace associated with buildings depicted on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map, was uncovered in the centre of the car park; the remains of a small industrial building with limestone walls and a very solid red brick floor were uncovered at the south-west side of the car park.
The remainder of the monitored area was found to have been heavily disturbed and no other features of an archaeological nature were identified during the works.
on behalf of Rubicon Heritage Services Ltd, Unit 2, Europa Enterprise Park, Midleton, Co. Cork
