2021:605 - R501 Road, Priory Demesne, Templemore, Tipperary

Commencing during the month of June 2021, excavations for a local flood relief scheme relating to issues involving a seasonal lake (turlough) in the townland of Priory Demesne were undertaken along the R501 road that runs between Templemore and Borrisoleigh. The scheme was intended to prevent future flooding of residences along the R501 which had been a recurring problem in the past. The works were not subject to a planning application and, as such, no provision for archaeological mitigation was allowed for.

Works commenced at the Templemore end of the scheme proceeding southwest along the R501. Works progressed for c. 250m with the pipeline trench excavated, pipe installed and the trench backfilled. On 2 July a human skull was identified by workers in the trench section face at chainage 284. Works were ceased and the relevant authorities were informed. An assessment report was requested ahead of agreements to facilitate the removal and recording of the human remains and the desktop assessment concluded that no known or newly discovered archaeological sites or features (with the exception of a possible rock-cut drainage channel and the previously identified human remains) were identified within the footprint of the scheme. The recommended mitigation consisted of the excavation of the exposed human remains and the monitoring of further ground disturbances by a suitably qualified archaeologist under licence.

Jenni Coughlan visited the site on 22 July and examined the immediate area of the human remains to assess for further possible burials. Some disarticulated bone was retrieved and some bone was confirmed as not human – in particular bone in the opposing north-facing section was confirmed as being animal bone. She removed the exposed human skull and other loose bone. Two further vertebrae were retrieved. As the identified human remains were within an open trench within the public road, expanding the excavation area was neither practical or desirable and no further work to expose remains beneath the road was undertaken and it was decided to leave any further remains unexposed and in situ.

Following removal of the human remains recording of the possible rock-cut channel into which the human remains appeared to have been deposited was completed. No clear diagnostic material was identified so it remains unclear if this was a natural watercourse or paleochannel, a man-made drain or ditch, or indeed a grave cut. Its location directly beneath the road carriageway and the absence of evidence for further human remains would suggest it was unlikely to have been a formal grave cut and it is most likely the remains are located within a pre-existing channel/ditch/drain feature.

On completion of the recording works, the sides of the trench were lined with geotextile and the trench was carefully backfilled with hardcore ahead of full reinstatement of the road surface.

The remainder of the pipeline was subject to archaeological monitoring. The stratigraphy along the trench was broadly consistent, with 0.2m of tarmacadam overlying 0.2m of lean mix hardcore, directly onto bedrock to a general depth of 3-3.5m. The trench depth decreased as the works progressed west corresponding to a fall in the level of the road. At the extreme western end of the works the trench was 1m deep and the stratigraphy consisted of 0.2m of tarmac overlying 0.2m of lean mix/hardcore which overlay a compact, sterile yellowish-brown stony clay. In the western end of the trench a thin band of grey marl and a lens of black organic, peat-like material was recorded near the base of the trench. The area to the south of the trench was low-lying and the peat and marl deposit are thought to have been associated with this natural hollow.

Nothing else of archaeological significance was identified during the monitoring works.

Osteological analysis and reporting are being carried out on the excavated human remains and a final report will incorporate these results and update interpretation as required.

c/o IAC Archaeology, Unit G1 Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow