John Deasy
Ceist:587 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the parameter and nature of each report commissioned for the Viking site in Woodstown, County Waterford. [25336/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 19 October 2004
Ceisteanna (446)
Freagraí scríofa
Archaeological testing of the route of the N25 Waterford city bypass, which was carried out on behalf of Waterford City Council under the auspices of the NRA, discovered the site at Woodstown and a report is available on the NRA website. Further archaeological investigations followed which involved test excavations and were aimed at determining the nature and extent of the archaeological features.
As outlined in the reply to Question No. 359 of 12 October 2004, three separate investigations have been commissioned by the road authority in relation to the marsh area. These involve paleoenvironmental cores to determine the origins, composition and dates of the build-up of silts and peat in this area, geophysical survey to establish if structures exist in the area beneath the surface and test trenching to ascertain the archaeological potential of the area. My Department's underwater archaeology unit has also been carrying out geophysical surveys beyond the area under the control of the road authority in the river adjacent to the Woodstown site.