2025:091 - Creggan Upper, Athlone, Westmeath

Archaeological Test Trenching as Part of an Assessment was carried out in advance of the construction of a Car Showroom, as required by an RFI from the Planning Authority.
There are a number of recorded Monuments in the vicinity of the site, including :
WM029-025—- : House – fortified house : GARRYCASTLE
WM029-026—- : Ringfort – rath : GARRYCASTLE
WM029-027—- : Ringfort – rath : CREGGAN LOWER
WM029-028—- : Castle – tower house : CREGGAN UPPER
WM029-033—- : Barrow – bowl-barrow : CLOONBONNY
WM029-034—- : Castle – unclassified : CLOONBONNY
Sixteen Test Trenches were excavated, totalling 878m x 2m. The trenches were located in three different enclosures. The bulk of them were in the two  enclosures at the northern end of the site, which comprised a large pasture enclosure to the eastern side, and a smaller enclosure to the west, located north of a derelict former dwelling-house which stood on the site.
Excavation was carried out by mechanical digger to the top of the subsoil,  which generally occurred at 0.2-0.3m deep. No material of an archaeological nature, finds or features, was observed in any of these trenches.
Towards the back or southern end of the site, there was a stream and it formed the boundary between Creggan Upper and Bunnahinly townlands. Trenches 11, 12, 14 & 15 straddled this boundary, and Trenches 13 & 16 were completely in Bunnahinly townland. The soil in this enclosure was very different to that of the other two, northern enclosures, being waterlogged and composed of black, peaty material. Trenches 11, 12, 14 & 15 contained no material of an archaeological nature.
Trenches 13 & 16 however contained possible fulacht fiadh material. At 16m from the western end of Trench 13, there was a deposit of black silty peat-like material, c.0.2m in depth, which had inclusions of whitish angular stone. It ran for 8.5m of the trench. No charcoal was observed in this material. It may represent the remains of a fulacht fiadh, or ancient cooking place.
From 15m from the western end of  Trench 16 there was a change in the fill of the trench, corresponding to the visibly waterlogged surface of the field. The soil profile in the western part of the trench was as follows: – 0.25m of nearly black silty peat-like material; – 0.05m of white clay subsoil. This material may be a continuation of that observed in Trench 13, and may represent the remains of a fulacht fiadh, or ancient cooking place.
The Archaeological Assessment called for further investigation of this material.
ITM Creggan Upper Trench Plan Figure 6