2022:525 - Weir Road, Tuam, Galway

Monitoring of groundworks at a development site in Killaloonty townland, on the south-west side of Weir Road, on the western outskirts of Tuam, County Galway, was carried out intermittently between 13 December 2021 and 28 June 2022. The project consisted of the expansion of an adjacent manufacturing facility. The monitoring was a condition of planning permission and was necessary due to the size of the development site and the scale of the development. There were no recorded monuments within or in the immediate vicinity of the development site. The north-eastern half of the site was an overgrown field of pasture, while the south-western half consisted of a stoned storage yard for the adjacent manufacturing facility.
The writer had previously carried out pre-development testing on the proposed development site in September 2011, under Excavation Licence No. 11E0331. The testing revealed natural undisturbed stratigraphy, evidence of recent backfill above natural undisturbed stratigraphy and evidence of a building and two associated linear features of apparent 19th- or early 20th-century date. Only modern artefacts were recovered. Nothing of archaeological significance was in evidence.
Monitoring of site investigation works was subsequently carried out, under the same excavation licence, in July 2018. This revealed natural undisturbed stratigraphy in the field of pasture, apart from a disturbed area along the south-west side of the field, and modern fill above peat and natural subsoils within the stoned storage yard. Nothing of archaeological significance was in evidence.
The most recent groundworks were those associated with the construction of the new building, a car park and an attenuation tank. Subsequently, peat was excavated on three sides of the new building. The new building measured 142m north-east/south-west by 60m. The area of the car park, to the north-east of the new building, measured c. 100m north-west/south-east by 50m and was reduced by 0.1-0.6m. The area to the south-east of the new building measured c. 160m north-east/south-west by up to 65m and was reduced by 0.1-1m.
The area excavated for the attenuation tank, which was located parallel to and 38.5m south-east of the new building, measured 55m north-east/south-west by 28-30m and 2.4-3m deep. An area measuring 18m north-west/south-east by 8.5-13m, located at the western corner of the attenuation tank, was reduced by 2.5m for a petrol interceptor.
Peat was subsequently excavated from three areas along the south-east, north-west and south-west sides of the new building. The area excavated along the south-east side of the building measured 90m north-east/south-west, 22m wide and 1.2-2.2m deep. The area excavated along the north-west side of the building measured 100m north-east/south-west, 20m wide and up to 2.5m deep at its south-west end, getting shallower towards the north-east end. The area excavated along the south-west side of the building measured 110m north-west/south-east, 20m wide and up to 2m deep.
The monitoring of the groundworks revealed natural undisturbed stratigraphy in the north-eastern end of the site and disturbed ground and modern fill above peat and natural subsoils elsewhere. Only modern artefacts were recovered. Nothing of archaeological significance was in evidence.

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