NRA Archaeologists

The NRA is the largest developer in the country. In accordance with the Code of Practice with the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (heritage matters are now the responsibility of the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government), the NRA has appointed 16 archaeologists and 11 assistant archaeologists to nine National Roads Design Offices to project manage our schemes. Three archaeologists have been appointed to St Martin's House (Head Office) to oversee the archaeological aspects of the schemes, and to develop a coherent and consistent approach to archaeology and roads.

This is an opportunity in the general sense to manage archaeological projects, but also to develop a broader approach to archaeology and the mechanisms of archaeology. This should include research priorities, intellectual development and culminate in the dissemination of information.

The NRA Archaeologist (formerly known as the Project Archaeologist) is defined in the Code of Practice as an employee of the local authority, whose function is to ensure that the archaeological elements of a road project are managed affectively, and in line with the principles and actions agreed in the Code. The Code itemises the NRA Archaeologist's key areas of responsibility, namely to work with Consultant Engineers at route selection (pre-planning) stage, advising on the archaeological implications, and ensuring minimal impact on known archaeological sites or areas of established significant archaeological potential; to prepare the specification for the consultant archaeologists at Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) stage and to ensure that the EIA and mitigation recommendations are in keeping with the best practices and policies as determined by Dúchas; to determine the level of archaeological excavations based on guidelines issued by Dúchas; to ensure that all mitigations are carried out satisfactorily; to certify all costs and ensure all reports are of the highest standard.

The NRA Archaeologists are involved in every stage of the road project. At the Constraints Study stage, their role is to ensure that all cultural heritage sites (known or potential), that may act as constraints in terms of the road location, are sufficiently mapped and recorded and that these are afforded full weighting during route selection. At Route Selection stage the NRA Archaeologist must ensure that all cultural heritage sites which will potentially be affected by various route options are identified; that the predicted impacts on cultural heritage of each of the route option is assessed; that sites which should be considered key constraints for the road design team are identified, and that the comparative cultural heritage impact of each of the route options is assessed and ranked accordingly. Once a preferred route has emerged the NRA Archaeologist must oversee the archaeological component of the Environmental Impact Assessment. At this stage the aim is essentially to assess the likely impact the project will have on the cultural heritage and conversely the impact the cultural heritage will have on the road project. The EIA must offer detailed proposals on appropriate measures for the avoidance or mitigation. During the lifecycle of the project the NRA Archaeologist must work closely with the road project team, draw up specifications for each component of the project and certify all costs. The NRA Archaeologist is central to the investigative and resolution phase of all projects. It is imperative that strategic testing strategies be employed leading to the appropriate archaeological mitigation.

NRA Archaeologists have been appointed to the one Head Office in Dublin and nine following National Roads Design Offices: Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Kerry, Limerick, Meath, Waterford and Westmeath. Each office caters for a number of local authorities, e.g. the Tramore Office serves Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford County Councils as well as Waterford City Council.