County: Westmeath Site name: Mullingar Regional Sports Complex, Springfield or Spittlefield, Mullingar
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 24E0357
Author: Graham Hull
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 644300m, N 754000m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.534080, -7.331759
Archaeological testing was undertaken of lands at Springfield or Spittlefield, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath in advance of a proposed development of a sports centre, with the aim of informing the planning process.
The site lies immediately outside the north-east edge of Mullingar town and occupies 7.86ha of pasture in a landscape that is predominantly rural in character. Twenty-two test trenches were excavated across three fields either side of the Robinstown link road. The trenches investigated a combined area of 5% of the total site. Modern made ground was seen in some places, often directly overlying natural geological deposits, indicating that parts of the site had been previously cleared of topsoil with a bulldozer before imported fill material was spread to raise the ground level. Occasional former field boundary ditches were noted in the trenches; these corresponded with boundaries noted on historic mapping and none are earlier than the 19th century. No archaeological features, deposits or artefacts were observed.
TVAS (Ireland) Ltd Ahish, Ballinruan, Crusheen, Co. Clare
