2021:463 - Ballygarraun North & Ballygarraun South, Galway

Pre-development testing was carried out along the proposed Athenry Northern Relief Road at Ballygarraun North and Ballygarraun South, Co. Galway in November 2021. The route comprises approximately 800m of roadway and a roundabout linking into previously constructed sections of the Athenry Northern Relief Road. There are no recorded monuments on the development site, or in its immediate vicinity. The site does however contain a reputed ‘Fairy Tree’, a whitethorn of considerable age located on gently sloping ground in the middle of a small field in the north-west of the development site. The tree is not in the line of the road or roundabout and consideration is being given as to how best preserve this natural and cultural heritage feature. A 14-tonne tracked excavator fitted with a wide grading bucket was retained to open 46 test trenches on the sites of the proposed roadway, roundabout and attenuation pond. The testing methodology consisted of centre-line testing with offsets at 15m intervals on the north-west/south-east section of road and attenuation pond, and linear trenching on the north-east/south-west section of road and roundabout. The stratigraphy generally comprised of 0.15-0.35m of topsoil over orange clay subsoil and grey sand, gravel and stone. The subsoil layer was generally confined to the lower-lying areas within the individual fields. On the higher ground it appeared as a thin, patchy layer or was absent altogether. There were numerous small, generally sub-circular features (average diam. c. 1m) consisting of a central deposit of dark grey-black clayey silt, surrounded by light grey silty clay, with an outer ring of oxidised red/brown gravel. These natural features are most likely decayed stones. A series of six shallow linear features (average Wth 0.6m, D 0.175m), extending north-north-west/south-south-east and positioned at 8-10m intervals, were uncovered within one of the fields in the southwest part of the route. A couple of stone-filled drains (Wth. 1m) were also uncovered within two of the fields in this area. These features are clearly related to post-medieval and modern agricultural practices. No archaeology was found.

Dominic Delany & Associates