1994:173 - DROGHEDA: Magdalene Tower, Louth

Prior to landscaping around the base of Magdalene Tower, the only surviving above-ground fragment of a Dominican Priory church, a four-week excavation commencing on February 1, 1994 was carried out to the west side of the tower for Drogheda Corporation. A cutting 10m x 2m was opened directly in front of the tower on the west side while further west an intermittent trench approximately 5m x 2.5m was opened.

Substantial evidence was retrieved during the excavation for the priory church and its development. Based on the excavations and an analysis of the documentary evidence, a 14th-century date is being put forward for the central tower.

The area excavated to the west of the tower revealed traces of the nave wall on both the north and south sides. This nave wall is considered to be 13th century in date. Remains of a 13th-century north aisle and a late 14th-century south chapel were also uncovered. It was discovered that the 13th-century south nave wall had blind arcading and a 13th/14th-century burial was interred under one of the arches immediately to the west of and pre-dating the tower. The 13th-century wall dividing the nave from the north aisle was arched and under one of these lay an undisturbed 14th-century burial. Adjacent to the tower, a 14th/15th-century doorway was discovered inserted into the earlier nave wall. The north aisle either fell down or was demolished prior to the 15th century.

Human burial was also represented on this site with ten burials being recognised along with vast quantities of disarticulated bone. The burials were all extended inhumations with an east-west orientation. The most common grave type was a simple pit with some burials showing evidence for the use of a coffin. Only three burials were in elaborate graves. Burial 9 was in a stone-lined grave or cist, while two burials (Nos. 7 and 8) were in the same mortar-lined grave. It is believed that both graves have their origin in the sarcophagus which is dated to the 13th and 14th centuries. Two burials (Nos. 4 and 8) belonged to the priory cemetery which is known to have come up to the outside walls of the church. They are considered to be 13th–14th century in date and two other burials (Nos. 6 and 9) from inside the church also date to this period. Burial 9 was accompanied by a copper-alloy buckle and strap tag belonging to a Breke belt, thus placing this burial in the 14th century. Other burials post-date the construction of the tower and probably belong to the 15th century. In the case of Burial 7, a female burial, this date is confirmed by the presence of a sherd of Merida type pottery of 15th–16th century date.

The collection of finds is quite large considering the small nature of the excavation and is composed mainly of decorated floor tiles. The assemblage of medieval pottery is quite small with only one definite sherd of foreign manufacture (Merida type pottery from Portugal). The majority of sherds are local wares but some non-local Irish wares are present also. The floor tiles consist of mosaic, line-impressed and two-coloured tiles and there are only a few sherds of roof ridge tiles present. The line-impressed tiles are typical of the examples found at a tile kiln site discovered by K. Campbell in 1985 within the priory precinct. However the two-coloured tiles include new designs, examples of which are not to be found in Eames' and Fanning's classifications. Other finds include an oyster shell found on the neck of Burial 7, which was presumably used as a pendant. The remainder of the artifacts are post-medieval in date and quite unremarkable.

30 Laurence St., Drogheda, Co. Louth