2018:514 - Main Street, Coolscart and Barrysfarm, Hospital, Limerick

Monitoring was undertaken on behalf of Irish Water for pipe rehabilitation works near the Knights Hospitaller Religious house, LI032-147002, and for open cut trenching along Main Street at Hospital, Co. Limerick between July and September 2018. Typically, the trench dug mostly along the western side of the road measured 0.9m wide by 1.1m deep and largely followed the line of an old cast iron main. To the east of the cut was the line of a modern storm drain, nearer the footpath were a number of other services including electricity and telecoms. Excavation through the town exposed a profile consisting of asphalt and road-base overlying a compact, reddish brown coarse sand and gravel with frequent sections of sub-surface bedrock. Throughout the course of the groundworks modern services were exposed as were occasional stone-lined culverts. One such example noted outside Christine’s Salon, near the entrance of Gleann Áine, was a rubble-built storm drain with an internal cavity measuring 25mm wide by 0.37m deep. No features of archaeological potential were noted during the monitoring brief.

Moore Archaeological and Environmental Services Ltd. 3 Gort na Ri, Athenry, Co. Galway