2013:534 - Curragh, Kildare

The scheme involved the construction of a gas feeder main. This comprised a 125mm PE pipe in an open-cut trench. Phase 1 involved a total length of approx. 2.25km at a depth of around 1.2m. A portion of the route traversed open field (although there is a rough unmade pathway). This greenfield section measured approximately 700m in length. Sod and topsoil was removed in advance of construction. The sod was conserved and the same sod restored when the pipe had been laid. Phase 2 consisted of an additional gas feeder main within the Curragh Camp. The total length was approx. 1.45km and it was excavated at a depth of around 1.2m. Portions of the route traverse open ground but many of these areas have been previously built on and later demolished as indicated on the historic maps. The trench was 0.5m wide and 1.2m deep. The topsoil was a maximum of 0.5m thick, below which was a deposit of loose gravel and clay that was between 0.5–0.35m thick. Below this was a yellow-brown sandy-clay natural subsoil. No archaeological material was identified in this area. Within the Curragh Camp the ground had been heavily disturbed and comprised mostly of thick layers of gravel and rubble containing red-brick fragments and crushed limestone mortar that were immediately beneath the road surface. The entire area was dissected by numerous water and sewerage services, both modern and 19th-century in date. The natural yellow-brown sandy-clay was identified in only a few places in this area. A solid red-brick wall was identified within a north-south orientated trench. The wall was left in situ and the gas pipe was excavated beneath it. This wall appeared to have been contemporary with the upstanding buildings on the site and it therefore presumably 19th century in date. As with Phase 1 the ground had been heavily disturbed and comprised mostly of thick layers of gravel and rubble containing red-brick fragments and crushed limestone mortar that were immediately beneath the road surface. The entire area was dissected by numerous water and sewerage services, both modern and 19th century in date. Nothing of archaeological significance was noted during the course of monitoring.

3 Gort na Rí, Athenry, Co. Galway