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no 00

back to INDEX  of Minutes of Lismullin Advisory Committee Meetings

 

 

REPORT TO MINISTER (NO.1)

 

LISMULLIN ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

 

The Committee has met on two occasions so far. The main outcomes of these meetings were as follows.

 

At the first meeting held on 27 June last the following issues were discussed:

  1. The Committee’s Terms of Reference

  2. How the Committee will operate;

  3. Options and techniques for surveying the site of the monument and the surrounding area.

  4. Works required in preparation for a geophysical survey;

  5. Potential risks to the site.

 

During the course of these discussions the following were agreed;

  1. That an on-site inspection by the Committee should be conducted as soon as possible (this was set for 10 July) This has taken place;

  2. Weather permitting, that the existing protective covers should be removed and that more suitable alternative covering be considered;

  3. That part of the monument outside the road land-take will be investigated to the extent possible; the adjoining landowner has no objection to the surveying of his land;

  4. That a geophysical “chariot” would be too heavy for such a delicate site and that the geo-physical survey will be conducted by hand;

 

    e) Aerial photographic coverage of the site (both vertical and oblique) would be taken to provide the basis for a detailed topographical survey.

 

During the course of the meeting the Committee was also briefed on and discussed the proposed release of documents relating to the Ministerial Directions for Lismullin; the Minister’s indication of his intention to consult widely on future archaeological policy and practice; the need for strong policies to avoid secondary development, particularly in the vicinity of the Blundelstown Interchange; the possibility of developing a Management Plan for Tara along the lines of the Boyne Valley Management Plan; the potential for the Minister to influence decisions on proposed developments in his role as prescribed body under planning legislation.  (The Lismullin file was released to the media and published on the Department’s website on the 6th of July)

 

The Committee agreed that recommendations relating to the protection and management of the landscape in the Tara area as a whole should be included in recommendations to be put forward by the Committee.

 

At the second meeting held on Tuesday, 10 July the discussion focussed on site conditions, future works and the timeframe for carrying out these works.

 

Site Condition:

It was agreed by the Committee that the site was in a very vulnerable condition, could not sustain or withstand preservation in situ and that, therefore, excavation is desirable and in the best interests of the archaeological remains. The archaeological remains are suffering, particularly from rainwater ingress and though this will be ameliorated with the introduction of a new plastic cover (see below), once the site has dried out sufficiently excavation should proceed. ;

 

It was agreed that the existing covers on the monument would be lifted on Wednesday 11th July; 5 –6 larger, lighter and more suitable covers have been sourced and these will be put in place over the next few days to minimise unnecessary traffic across the site (covers removed 11/7);

 

All metal grid pegs etc will be replaced with bamboos as the plastic cover is being removed;

 

Heavy rain has led to considerable silt deposits which create an extra layer of cover over parts of the surface of the monument; as part of the excavation strategy these deposits will have to be carefully removed without eroding or damaging the under-lying archaeological features;

 

Weather conditions will be the key driver in determining both the time-scale and the measures to be put in place to excavate the site

 

Future Works/Timeframe:

The geophysical survey will take place in phases – outside the landtake, inside the land-take but outside the area of the national monument and within the monument site itself (this latter pending approval from the Advisory Group (see below));

 

In the event that weather remains unfavourable then consideration will be given to the alternative of undertaking geophysical survey and excavation contemporaneously;

 

The first phase of the survey by a geo-physical company from the UK will commence on Wednesday 11 July;

 

The results of the phase one survey will inform the basis on which further phases are to be carried out. This will include an assessment of the value of carrying out geophysical survey on the current surface of the monument within the roadtake and a report in this regard is due by Friday, 13 July (asap after w/c 23/7);

 

Aerial photography will take place but this is weather dependent

 

Geochemical analysis of the site will take place as the site is being excavated or beforehand if possible.  

 

Subject to the initial geophysical survey report on 13 July and a recommendation that the geophysical survey over the area of the monument within the road take would have a value, the Committee will be asked by phone or e-mail to approve the geophysical survey of the enclosure over the weekend (14th and 15th of July); it has since been established that because of the weather conditions a geo-physical survey over this weekend would not be possible.

 

A revised, dedicated archaeological methodology statement will be prepared considering the exact nature and configuration of the known remains, the possibility of multi-periodicity and what may be anticipated based on excavation and survey of similar monuments elsewhere.

 

The Committee will meet again on 18th July (see appendix 1) to advise, subject to Ministerial approval on the detailed proposals for the excavation of the monument site, to commence, weather permitting, on 23rd July. This aspect of the work is expected to take around 12 weeks to complete.

 

In overall terms the Committee has agreed:

  1. That the excavation of the site within the area of the road-take and the preservation in situ of the portion outside the road was the best archaeological practice.

  2. That, given the vulnerable nature of the site, and the imminent threats to its degradation by natural elements that the excavation should proceed as soon as practicable.

  3. A further, more detailed report will be prepared when the initial results from the first geophysical survey are known and the conditions on the ground improve sufficiently to allow the other proposed works to proceed.

  4. The NRA will prepare a revised Method Statement reflecting the discussion on the excavation strategy for the site and the recommendations from the Committee in that regard;

  5. That the Minister will be provided with further reports as necessary at significant stages of the excavation programme;

 

Related issues raised at this meeting were:

  1. Possible engineering solutions for boundary treatment of the motorway in the vicinity of the monument;
  2. Future of that part of the site outside the motorway land-take;
  3. The related issue of lessening the visual impact of the motorway in the Tara/Skryne valley;
  4. Re-examination of the current methodology of machine soil stripping ahead of archaeological excavation;
  5. The longer term lessons to be learnt in this particular case in terms of in informing the Minister’s proposed overall review of archaeological policy and practice, with specific reference to the issue of defining and protecting archaeological/historic landscapes.

 

The NRA undertook to provide an engineering input on methods of dealing with the motorway boundary in the vicinity of the monument and can arrange for an engineer to attend a meeting of the Committee at an appropriate juncture;

 

The Minister’s decision to release the documents relating to the Directions given for Lismullin was also welcomed by the members of the Committee.

 

The Committee was also advised that certain legal issues have been raised by the EU and must be responded to by the Department.

 

The Committee are due to meet again on 2/8.

 

Advisory Committee on Lismullin, National Monument,

13 July 2007.

 Appendix 1

 

  1. The Lismullin Advisory Committee met at Lismullin on Wednesday 18 July.
  2. The following actions were agreed in relation to the site:
  3. That booms should be placed around the site of the monument to limit water run-off and silt ingress and the subsequent damage to the site; *
  4. That the site is to be cleaned back in quadrants when weather allows it to dry out sufficiently for this;
  5. That each quadrant shall be covered after being cleaned back;
  6. That a supplementary pre-excavation plan will be prepared as each quadrant is cleaned;
  7. That the geophysical survey will be carried out on a quadrant by quadrant basis, or over the whole site, as weather permits;
  8. That the committee will be advised prior to the commencement of actual excavation.

 

* The committee carried out an inspection of the site during a particularly heavy downpour and it was apparent that the resulting rainfall was causing serious surface water erosion of the site. It is essential that the booms should be deployed as soon as possible. The booms will consist of sandbags and the positioning of same will be decided by the archaeologists on the ground following detailed observation of the water-flow.

 

 

Source - http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/Heritage/NationalMonuments/