Newlands Cross Upgrade EIS - European Investment Bank

South Dublin County Council N7 Newlands Cross Upgrade
Environmental Impact Statement
Arup Consulting Engineers
12.5.2 Archaeological Heritage
The mitigation strategy details the techniques that will be adopted at pre-construction stage to
ameliorate predicted impacts. This strategy has been drawn up in direct consultation with the
NRA Archaeologist and the National Monuments Section of the Department of Environment,
Heritage and Local Government.
12.5.2.1 Recorded Archaeological Sites
It will not be possible to undertake pre-construction archaeological test excavation of the two
RMP sites where they lie within the existing N7 road and Newlands Cross junction. While it
is recommended that archaeological monitoring of all earth-moving works in this area be
undertaken, there are serious implications for health and safety when monitoring during
construction. It is acknowledged that this may override the requirement of monitoring and
should be subject to ongoing review by the NRA Archaeologist once construction
commences.
12.5.2.2 Greenfield Areas
Given the potential for discovery of previously unknown sites or features in the proposed
development area, it is recommended that a programme of archaeological test excavation be
undertaken, where feasible, along the entire length of the land acquisition area of the proposed
upgrade works. The purpose of this blanket testing strategy is to determine the location, date,
nature and extent of any previously unknown archaeological sites and to resolve, where
possible, all archaeological and cultural heritage issues prior to the main construction contract
phase of development. It is anticipated that all archaeological resolution will be completed
preconstruction which will limit the archaeological requirement at the construction stage.
It is proposed that any archaeological features revealed by the test trenching will be resolved
by archaeological excavation, recording and publication of results. This process ensures that
the features are recorded and excavated in advance of development. Excavation results in the
removal of archaeological remains from their natural environment. Archaeological excavation
ensures that this removal is systematically and accurately recorded, drawn and photographed,
providing a paper and digital archive and adding to the archaeological knowledge of a
specified area. The detailed technical reports arising from this will form part of the national
archive of archaeological data in the Sites and Monuments record curated by the Department
of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
12.5.2.3 General Archaeological Mitigation Measures
For works that may be located outside the CPO of the approved scheme such as borrow pits,
site compounds and other temporary works areas that are directly related to the road
development, the contractor or sub-contractor working on approved road projects are subject
to the relevant planning legislation. The National Monuments Section of the Department of
Environment, Heritage and Local Government should be contacted in advance of such works
so that advice may be issued with regard to the relevant permission required to carry out the
work.
12.6 Residual Impacts
No residual impacts are envisaged, as all archaeological, architectural and cultural heritage
issues will be resolved at the preconstruction and construction stages of the proposed road
development.
December 2007 Page 198