County: Derry Site name: Derry (27 Shipquay Street)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/17/204
Author: Christopher J. Farrimond, FarrimondMacManus Ltd (Derry)
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 643494m, N 916739m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.996346, -7.320278
Archaeological monitoring of initial primary ground reduction works was undertaken from 16 October – 1 November 2017, having been commissioned by Active Maintenance Solutions (AMS) Limited.
Following the demolition of the existing building, primary ground reduction works comprising the removal of floor surfaces, basements, modern infill and excavation of foundation trenches for concrete foundations revealed glacial subsoil, comprising a mid-orange clay and bedrock, which was encountered directly below modern infill/overburden/construction layers associated with the building which previously occupied the site.
Removal of the substantial existing basement and its foundations revealed that the foundations of the basement and of the neighbouring buildings to north-east and south-west appeared to have been excavated through at least the upper layer of bedrock. In particular, it would appear that the construction of the basement itself had necessitated the excavation of approximately 0.6-1.4m of bedrock with the floor level of the basement being considerably below the upper level of bedrock exposed below the foundations of the adjacent properties.
Within the south-west portion of the site modern infill, which had apparently been used to create a level site, and construction layers, varied in depth between c.0.9–1.8m and contained frequent, large quantities of 20th-century construction materials.
Subsequent monitoring of the excavation of foundation trenches and trenches for underpinning confirmed that, following the removal of modern layers and materials, the site primarily comprised bedrock with some limited areas of glacial subsoil within the southern portion of the site. Monitoring works at the site confirmed that the construction of the building which most recently occupied the site had caused a very considerable amount of sub-surface ground disturbance throughout the boundaries of the site.
No archaeological features, remains, deposits or artifacts were identified within the boundaries of the proposed development area during archaeological works at the site.
150 Elmvale, Culmore, Derry BT48 8SL
