County: Offaly Site name: BUNATERIN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 14E0138
Author: Charles Mount
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 628009m, N 721396m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.242714, -7.578572
In 2003 An Bord Pleanála confirmed planning permission to Kilsaran Concrete for an extension to the sand and gravel extraction quarry, with processing, on an area of 35ha at Bunaterin, Screggan, Co. Offaly (Reference No. PL2/99/228). Condition 21 of the planning permission required monitoring.
The development was previously the subject of an Environmental Impact Assessment with an assessment carried out by Marcus Casey (May 2002) which included a specially commissioned aerial photographic survey that noted no archaeological features in the area of the development. There are no RMP sites in the development area. Monitoring had previously been carried out at the site between 2004 and 2010 but no archaeological material was identified.
Monitoring took place on 13-14 May 2014. Work was carried out by a CAT bulldozer which put the soil into heaps which were removed by an excavator and hauled by dumper to the periphery of the site for storage in a screening berm. The soil is an extremely shallow grey-brown podzolic c. 50-100mm deep and overlying a till varying in colour from dark to light brown to yellow to light grey. No archaeological features or artefacts were identified in the course of the monitoring.
Irish Concrete Federation, Newlands Business Park, Dublin 22.
