County: Leitrim Site name: Tullaghan, Redbrae, Knockbrack, Corbeg, Wardhouse, Tawnytallan and Duncarbry
Sites and Monuments Record No.: LE001-006---, LE001-031002- Licence number: 23E0934
Author: Zbigniew Malek, Archaeological Management Solutions
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 577272m, N 857660m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.466921, -8.350590
The Combined Tullaghan to Redbrae schemes in Co. Leitrim form part of a larger nationwide Water Network Programme that is being undertaken by Uisce Éireann. The schemes involved the installation of c.3,766m of rehabilitated water mains along existing roads, as well as the planned decommissioning of the existing mains. The groundworks for the scheme consisted of trial holes as part of site investigations, access pits to facilitate the directional drilling method and sections of open-cut trenching located along an existing local road (L6058, L2059, an unnamed road and across the N15) west of Tullaghan village in the townlands of Knockbrack, Corbeg, Redbrae, Wardhouse, Tawnytallan, Duncarbry and Tullaghan, Co. Donegal.
The monitoring followed a high-level Cultural Heritage Screening Assessment (CHSA) undertaken for the scheme by Archaeological Management Solutions. The schemes impacted the Zones of Notification (ZoN) of one Recorded Monument LE001-006---- (hut site), were in close proximity to the ZoN of LE001-031002- (burial) which is listed on the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR), and impacted the ZoNs for LE001-063001- (bullaun stone, present location) and LE001-063002- (inscribed stone, present location) which are listed on the SMR. However, due to their location within the current Roman Catholic Church, there would be no impact to these. The CHSA recommended archaeological monitoring within the ZoNs for Recorded Monument LE001-006---- (hut site) and SMR site LE001-031002- (burial) and 20m either side. Monitoring was also proposed as a precaution in the vicinity of Cultural Heritage (CH) sites: CH01 (gravel pit, site of), CH03 (well, site of), CH04 (watercourse/townland boundary), CH07 (watercourse), CH09 (well), CH10 (watercourse), CH12 (spring, site of), CH36 (possible standing stone) and CH38 (well, site of) and 20m either side due to potential for archaeological remains to be present at these locations.
The archaeological monitoring was carried out intermittently between 3 November 2023 and 20 March 2024. No potential archaeological objects, features or deposits were found during the monitoring of the schemes route.
No human remains were revealed in trench in the proximity of the ZoN for burial (LE001-031002) in Tullaghan village. It was noted, that due to the wet and marshy ground in the area adjacent to the hut site (LE001-006) and in the vicinity of the well (CH09) and watercourse (CH10), the road was laid on the built-up ground comprising stone rubble overlying a layer of dark brown peat and the natural subsoil comprising a layer of light-yellow clayey sand.
The only feature revealed was the modern stone culvert at the location of a waterbody (CH07) and a culvert (CH16) to the west of St Patrick’s Catholic Church (NIAH 30801007). A culvert in this place was depicted on the first-edition six-inch Ordnance Survey map (1837) and 25-inch Ordnance Survey map (1909). In other excavated trenches underlying the modern road surface the natural subsoil consisted of mid-orangish-brown stony sandy clay with occasional boulder inclusions overlying bedrock. A site visit did not confirm if the possible standing stone (CH36) is of archaeological interest.
Fahy’s Road, Kilrush, Co. Clare