Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd. begin work on the N22 Tralee Bypass/Tralee to Bealagrellagh road scheme

21 September 2010

Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd., Ireland's largest commercial archaeology firm has commenced work on the route of the N22 Tralee Bypass/ Tralee to Bealagrellagh road scheme with Kerry County Council and the Kerry National Roads Design office.  At present Headland Archaeology (Ireland)Ltd. are employing local plant operators for the task.

There are ten local archaeologists among the crew of thirty currently working on the project. The current phase of work is anticipated to run until the middle of October. Work commenced in early August on the 13.5km route which stretches from the N69 on the north side of Tralee town to the N70 on the south side and includes a link to the N22 Killarney road.

Patricia Long, a Senior Archaeologist with Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd. and Project Manager for this phase of the Tralee Bypass project is originally from North Kerry. She says "The Tralee area is rich in cultural heritage and the new discoveries along the road route will be tied in to what is already known about archaeology in the area. The findings have so far been dominated by Burnt Mounds which are a very common monument type, often dating to the Bronze Age. It's fantastic to have an opportunity to work in my local area and discover new evidence of how the people of Kerry lived in the past"This project involves a range of archaeological techniques designed to detect and record the presence of archaeology in advance of the construction of the road, including Geophysical Survey, Historic Building Survey, Underwater Survey and the Archaeological Test Trenching of the entire route. Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd. have so far identified a number of archaeological sites along the route through archaeological test trenching, and will be producing a report on the findings which will facilitate further investigations in a later stage of work. Established in 1996, Headland Archaeology specialises in projects such as the large scale Archaeological Test Trenching of the N22 Tralee Bypass/ Tralee to Bealagrellagh scheme. 

One of the largest archaeology firms in Europe, with a turnover of €13.6m in 2008, the Headland Group supplies services to Ireland and the UK, with offices in Cork, Galway, Edinburgh and Glasgow.   Although Headland specialises in larger infrastructure and renewables projects, they also offer a comprehensive range of archaeological services, including specialist areas, such as field services, artefacts, environmental, geophysics, historic buildings, EIA,industrial, maritime, and military, to a broad spectrum of clients.  Their combined experience and expertise translates into a client-focused approach, minimizing risk, enabling development and delivering products and projects on time and to budget.  If you are interested in archaeology you might like Headland Archaeology Ireland's blog Headlines http://headlandarchaeology.wordpress.com/