2024:413 - Abbey Terrace, Stoneparks, Ballymote, Sligo

The development is located on the western side of the town of Ballymote, about 250m from the town centre on the south side of Abbey Terrace. It is proposed to demolish the existing two-storey doctor’s surgery as well as the outbuildings associated with the existing petrol station, leaving the existing shop to be retained but remodelled internally. It is proposed to construct a new canopy over the fuel pumps to the east of the shop and open up the area to the south, to construct a car wash area, additional parking and storage as well as a one-way access system for customer traffic. The proximity of the site of the Abbey, SL033-163001-, immediately to the east, with its associated graveyard, increased the possibility that some archaeological features potentially associated with the abbey may survive within the proposed development.
In order to assess possible impacts from the development, it was proposed to excavate three archaeological test trenches across this area of the site. These works were carried out on 13 November 2024.
Nothing of archaeological interest was found in either Trench 1 or 3, with the modern overburden being 1m and 1.6m respectively. The two linear features uncovered in Trench 2 are of potential significance. They appeared to respect one another, running along the same curving line, and although only 1.8m of the lengths were visible, they may describe the arc of a circle, which if complete may have a diameter of some 30–35m, of rath-like proportions.
Preservation in situ is always the preferred option when archaeological deposits or features are uncovered. In this case, it is proposed that the area of the possible rath ditch will be car parking, the the formation levels of which, including all services, will be substantially above the levels at which the potential ditch features were uncovered. Indeed the final car park surface will be above the existing ground levels offering greater assurance that the potential archaeology will remain untouched. To that end both the features were covered in a layer of protective plastic sheeting and the trench backfilled.