County: Galway Site name: Coal Yard, Lough Atalia Road, Galway
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 19E0163
Author: David Murphy
Site type: Urban
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 530150m, N 725040m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.271090, -9.047181
Monitoring of geotechnical site investigations at the former Coal Yard site, Lough Atalia Road, Galway was undertaken on 8 and 9 April 2019. Four trial pits and three slit trenches were excavated across the proposed development site. The excavations were spaced throughout the site and measured between 2.5m and 3m in length and 0.7-1m in width. A similar stratigraphy was revealed in all seven trial pits and silt trenches. Underlying the 0.15m thick concrete slab, natural subsoil, comprising a light-yellow sandy boulder clay, was revealed at each investigation location. This boulder clay, which contained frequent inclusions of varying sized natural stones and boulders, was consistently revealed at each location and extended down to the limit of excavation of each pit/trench.
Nothing of an archaeological nature was revealed at any of the investigation locations. Due to the sterile composition of the revealed soils, as well as the evident existing ground level within the graveyard site to the immediate north and the CIE land to its immediate west, it is quite apparent that in order to construct the coal yard site, significant truncation of the original ground level was undertaken. Site levelling excavations evidently extended well into the natural glacial boulder clay (to a manner of 2-4m), and as a result, reduced the archaeological potential of the subject site to a negligible level.
John Cronin & Associates, 3 Westpoint Business Centre, Ballincollig, Cork
