Bord Gáis has described as "unfortunate" the fact that an ancient burial site in Co Meath went unnoticed during preliminary construction work on a section of pipeline.
The company has admitted that an archaeologist who was supposed to supervise the stripping of topsoil at the site near Dunshaughlin last April was absent when the work began. A spokeswoman said the matter was being investigated.
The construction work has now been halted and preliminary excavation of the site - thought to date from pre-Christian times - is being carried out by the consultant archaeologists, Margaret Gowen and Associates.
The firm was also responsible for overseeing the stripping of topsoil, but it declined to comment on the issue yesterday and referred all queries to Bord Gáis.
Although Co Meath is one of the State's richest areas of archaeological interest, the Dunshaughlin site was not previously recorded and there was no "surface expression" of the remains, according to the Bord Gáis spokeswoman.
The find, which includes both human and animal bones, was made during "trench excavation" in early July. At that stage, archaeologists were called in and Dúchas, the Heritage Service, was informed.
In a statement, Bord Gáis said some material had been "disturbed" during the trenching process, but that "the vast majority of the site remains intact and is being surveyed and assessed in consultation with Dúchas, in accordance with best archaeological practice".
The statement added: "Margaret Gowen and Associates, a reputable firm of archaeologists with extensive experience of archaeology related to gas pipeline projects, was contracted to perform all necessary archaeological activities for the gas pipeline to the west, in accordance with the Archaeological Code of Operations.
"As part of such duties, the archaeological firm is responsible for inspecting each area during the initial stages of construction in order to identify if any archaeological material exists. Regrettably, in this instance, the area was not initially identified as being of archaeological interest."
The Dunshaughlin site is one of about 250 discovered on the route of the 318-km gas pipeline linking Dublin to Galway and Limerick. The spokeswoman said Bord Gáis had employed more than 80 archaeologists to deal with the various investigations in recent months.
