2020:036 - Various locations, Clonroad Beg, Ennis, Clare

Archaeological monitoring was carried out for watermain rehabilitation works at Ennis, County Clare. The work was undertaken by William Anderson and Billy Quinn for Moore Archaeological and Environmental Services Ltd. (Moore Group) between October 2019 and January 2020.

The works involved replacing an existing watermain along Parnell Street and the installation and replacement of water pipes and connections at a number of other locations in Ennis. Open trench excavation was used to install the new pipes, the main ground disturbing activity involving mechanical trenching along the length of Parnell Street and adjoining lanes, as well as other laneways in the town.

The works took place within the ‘zone of notification’ for the historic town of Ennis (CL033-082---) and close to other recorded archaeological monuments as well as buildings and structures which are listed on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and the County Clare list of Protected Structures.

The monitoring found that much of the impacted ground had been previously disturbed by the installation of services and utilities including the water mains and pipes which were being replaced. The ground along much of Parnell Street is artificial, built up to avoid flooding, and few areas were observed which had not been previously excavated and infilled with modern aggregate. The only location where potential archaeological deposits were observed was along Post Office Lane, where a possible historic cobbled surface was revealed with underlying black soil, this likely dates from the early modern period. The excavations did not continue into this fill and the material was preserved in situ. No finds or artefacts were retrieved during the monitoring programme.

3 Gort Na Ri, Athenry, Co. Galway