6. Conclusions and recommendations
Conclusions This baseline archaeological assessment was undertaken in order to assess the known and potential archaeological resource of the streets which encompass the proposed Shandon Integrated Urban Strategy (IUS). This assessment was compiled in order to inform the project design team on the known and potential archaeological constraints of the area so that any proposed interventions across the project area can be tailored accordingly. This baseline assessment concludes that the Shandon IUS project area as a whole can be considered to possess a moderate to high archaeological potential due to its location within the Zone of Archaeological Potential that surrounds the medieval historic core of Cork (CO074- 034001-). This potential is further heightened at a number of locations within the project area (as described in Section 5 above) due to the known presence of archaeological remains (including human burials) or the high probability of the survival of unrecorded subsurface archaeological remains. While high-level mitigation recommendations are outlined below, no tailored mitigation measures are proposed within this baseline assessment as this project is still in the design and options selection phase. However, once firmer project proposals are finalised, they can be assessed in relation to their potential archaeological impacts and at that point site specific mitigation measures can be proposed. Recommendations The following recommendations are general in nature as the proposed scheme is still in the preliminary design stage. It is recommended that sub-surface interventions be avoided where possible during the project, however, if necessary, the interventions should be as limited in scale and as shallow in depth as is feasibly possible. Any sub-surface excavations which will be required as part of the project, including site investigations during design phase, will be, at a minimum, subject to archaeological mitigation in the form of licensed archaeological monitoring . In the case of larger scale interventions, archaeological testing of proposed work areas may be required. Any proposed testing programme will be subject to prior discussion with, and agreement of, the city archaeologist prior to applying to the National Monuments Service for an excavation licence. If archaeological artefacts, features or deposits are revealed during any monitoring or testing programme, then all machine excavation should be suspended and both the Cork City Council Archaeologist and the National Monuments Service should be contacted to determine the appropriate mitigation strategy. The ultimate mitigation strategy may include preservation in- situ , preservation-by-record (archaeological excavation) or a combination of both.
Integrated Urban Strategy, Shandon, Cork Baseline archaeological assessment
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