Archaeological discoveries on the N25 New Ross Bypass.

This book is the 14th volume in the TII Heritage Series

The medieval town of New Ross was founded in the early 13th century by Isabella de Clare and William Marshal. It was strategically located at the lowest bridging point on the River Barrow. By the early 21st century the historic town and its bridge were regularly clogged by traffic. The New Ross Bypass was developed to relieve traffic congestion and to improve the urban environment. Over almost two decades, during the design phases for the bypass and prior to and during construction, a programme of systematic archaeological surveys and excavations were carried out. This led to the discovery of almost 40 previously undocumented archaeological sites along the route of the bypass in counties Kilkenny and Wexford.

Alongside detailed reports on the results of eight key excavations, this book provides an overview of the archaeology of this region and shows how the remains uncovered on the bypass route deepen our understanding of human activity in the lower Barrow Valley over almost nine millennia. Chapters written by experts in their fields consider different topics and periods in greater detail. Including, the palaeoenvironmental background of the sites uncovered, the nature and range of evidence for the first farmers and early metal-using societies in the region, the impact of Anglo-Norman colonisation and the establishment of a feudal economy in the area, and the evidence for effects of post-medieval and early modern landlordism on the landscape.

The book is richly illustrated with more than 140 photographs, plans and drawings, and includes eight specially commissioned artistic visualisations.

Authors

 James Eogan is a Senior Archaeologist with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). He studied archaeology in University College Dublin and the Frei Universität Berlin. He is a licensed archaeologist who has excavated in Ireland and abroad. He has been Project Archaeologist on many TII-funded transport projects in south-east Ireland, over the last two decades, including the New Ross Bypass. He lives in Waterford.