County: Louth Site name: DROGHEDA: Shop St./North Quay
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 93E0145
Author: Rosanne Meenan
Site type: Historic town
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 709027m, N 775017m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.713436, -6.348334
This site was located in the centre of the medieval town on the corner of the North Quays and Shop St., the latter having been the primary north-south street in the medieval town.
Two trenches were dug, one back from North Quay and the other back from Shop St. They revealed the same stratigraphy. There was an overburden and redeposited clay layer to a depth of c. 1.8m. Underneath lay a very deep stratigraphy of black organic material with bones, oyster shell, wood chips, etc. and pottery and leather. This deposit was so deep that the JCB could not bottom it.
There was no evidence for river flooding and it is suggested that the trench may have been positioned north of, ie inside a waterfront. Excavations on the other side of Shop St, closer to the river, indicated that a wharf for boats was 'constructed very early in the thirteenth century' (Sweetman 1984, 198) and when the coffer dams for the construction of St Mary's Bridge were being built timbers from a waterfront were recovered from the spoil (Bradley 1984, 115).
References
Bradley, J. 1984 Urban Archaeological Survey -Co. Louth.
Sweetman P.D. 1984 'Archaeological Excavations at Shop St.,Drogheda, Co. Louth.' P.R.I.A. Vol. 84, C, No. 5, 171-224.
Roestown, Drumree, Co. Meath
