2015:464 - MILTOWN, CARTRON AND BANAGHER, Galway

Moore Group was commissioned by EPS Group to carry out a programme of archaeological monitoring at a number of proposed pumping stations and at the site of a new Waste Water Treatment Plant at Milltown, Co. Galway. The works involved the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a main pumping station near the centre of the village and deliver foul wastewater to a new wastewater treatment plant on the lands adjacent to the River Clare. Groundworks began on 25 June 2015 and were monitored until 3 July 2015.

The location of the waste water treatment plant measured 20m east-west by 15m and was excavated to a depth of 3m below the ground level. The top 1.2m consisted of modern rubbish and build-up material within an orange-grey silty clay matrix, with pockets of redeposited topsoil throughout. This was located directly upon a layer of shattered bedrock and gravel that was approximately 0.5m thick. The access road ran between the two GAA pitches and was orientated north-south. It was 160m long and 4m wide. There appears to have been a large degree of ground works in the area to create a level surface for the GAA pitches with some areas levelled and hollows backfilled with stone. No archaeological features were identified at either location.