1996:277 - DROGHEDA: Shop Street, Louth

Archaeological testing of a proposed extension to a furniture retail warehouse, Shop Street, Drogheda, was carried out in May 1996. Part of the site was archaeologically excavated by P. D. Sweetman in 1981 during the construction of the new St Mary’s Bridge. The present development is located to the west side of Shop Street beside the River Boyne. This site is near the chapel of St Saviour, which was first mentioned in 1218.

Six trenches were excavated. The testing revealed significant archaeological deposits over much of the site, but these were mainly of post-medieval date. A series of stone walls running north-south and east-west were uncovered in the test-trenches. Further excavation work was undertaken as these walls would be disturbed by the proposed development.

Archaeological excavation in July 1996 concentrated on the area around the walls to the south of the existing building. These walls are all of post-medieval date and some are marked on the first-edition OS map. They have been significantly disturbed by more recent activity.

The east of the site was disturbed by basements, and deposits did not survive here. The majority of features on the site were of post-medieval date. These included a stone-lined well, a brick drain, a stone drain, a sump, numerous stone and brick walls, and two red brick ovens.

Along the western boundary of the site a series of timber boxes, probably associated with the tanning process, were evident. These were of eighteenth/nineteenth-century date and were cut into a thick grey loam deposit. A narrow basement with a cobbled floor, also of post-medieval date, was uncovered in this part of the site.

Quite a large amount of medieval pottery was recovered from the site but it all came from a disturbed context. The only medieval deposit evident was a thick black layer of organic material that was exposed at least 1.5m below the surface. This contained sherds of thirteenth-century pottery and pieces of leather. It was cut by a foundation arch of a stone building that no longer stands on the site but which was probably a substantial merchant’s house. This layer was also evident to the north of the site on the north side of Dyer Street.