2023:726 - Ballytivnan, Sligo

Archaeological monitoring carried out by Fadó Archaeology at Ballytivnan, Sligo town, for Mullane Civil Works and Plant Hire.  The development involves the construction of a security hut and all subsurface services. The contractors were developing facilities at Abbvie Plant by mechanically reducing the ground level at the existing carpark to accommodate a new security hut and following this a new carpark is proposed. The works area is in the grounds of the Abbvie plant in Ballytivnan. No conditions related to archaeological were required by the planning authority and there are no archaeological sites or monuments in the vicinity.

On 4 October 2023 contractors, while mechanically reducing ground level to accommodate a new security hut and all subsurface services, uncovered human skeletal remains. The remains included fragments from an adult skeleton. The contractors contacted the author to confirm the presence of human skeletal remains and to advise on how to proceed. The author instructed them to contact An Garda Síochána to report the discovery. Following inspection of the site by the Gardaí and consultation with the state pathologist, they concluded that the remains were historic and not a concern of the crime unit.

Due to discovery of human remains and following in consultation with the National Monuments Service and the National Museum of Ireland, the author acquired a licence for excavation of the find spot to investigate and recover any further remains from the find spot and to sort through the spoil for any archaeological material. In addition to this, archaeological monitoring was conducted during the remainder of the groundworks associated with the development.
Monitoring took place over the course of three days on 30 November, 1 December and 8 December 2023. A trench to accommodate buried services was mechanically excavated to a depth of 1.5m and a width of 1m and orientated north to south through the existing carpark. Following the excavation of this trench the work commenced to remove the surface from the carpark in the northern portion of the site. During this work there was nothing to note; there was disturbance from previous services, fill from the existing carpark and other modern rubble mix used to infill this area of the plant. No additional material, features, deposits or objects of an archaeological nature or archaeological potential were noted during the remainder of groundworks associated with the car park and security hut development.

No further archaeological material was found during investigation of the find spot or during the archaeological monitoring. The skeletal remains were sent to Denise Keating, osteoarchaeologist, for analysis. The remains were of one individual aged 25-35 years. A sample has been submitted for radiocarbon dating; no results have yet been received.