County: Sligo Site name: Grange East
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SL014-173---- Licence number: 22E0602
Author: Eoin Halpin
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 564208m, N 834056m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.254086, -8.549262
The proposed development was located some 5.5km south-west of Sligo town on the eastern slopes of Knocknarea. It consisted of the construction of a single storey dwelling house including installation of a proprietary sewage treatment system, together with all associated site works and landscaping on an area of ground extending to some 0.3ha.
In response to the planning application, Sligo County Council requested further information, to consist of thorough archaeological assessment, to include a geophysical survey, to be carried out over the entire development site in order to assess the potential impact of the development, if any, on archaeological remains in the area.
A geophysical survey of the entire field, including the proposed development site, was undertaken in July 2022 under license 22R0219, which noted no clear responses of archaeological potential within the proposed development area or the wider field and no responses were noted in the location of the recorded enclosure, SL014-173----.
This was followed up in August 2022 by archaeological test trenching of the development area, which consisted of the machine excavation of four trenches across the footprint of the house, and one trench each across the new access driveway and across the proposed sewage treatment system.
Testing showed that the natural limestone bedrock lay immediately under the relatively shallow topsoil, with nothing of archaeological significance noted.
The results of the geophysical survey and the testing would indicate that nothing of archaeological significance exists within the footprint of the proposed development and the geophysical survey indicates nothing of significance in the wider field.
AHC Ltd 36 Ballywillwill Road, Castlewellan, Co. Down BT31 9LF
