County: Louth Site name: DUNDALK: Carrolls Village, Church Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 97E0338
Author: Deirdre Murphy, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: Town defences and Pit
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 704698m, N 807680m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.007723, -6.402746
Archaeological testing of a proposed residential and commercial development at Carrolls Village, Church Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth, was carried out in order to confirm the precise line and extent of the medieval town ditch that had been identified during previous testing.
Six test-trenches were excavated on this site, three of which were placed across the line of the suspected town ditch. Substantial evidence was retrieved for a ditch running north–south through the site. The ditch maintained a consistent line along the centre of the site and would appear to have been cut into the boulder clay. It measured a maximum of 1.2m in depth and 5–7m in width at the top. It appeared for the most part to be filled with post-medieval layers, thus some original fill was evident in two of the trenches along the east side.
No dating evidence was retrieved for the original fill but it may be of medieval date. It would appear that the ditch was recut during the 17th/18th century and backfilled some time afterwards. Only slight evidence was retrieved for a possible bank or wall along the east side of the ditch, but this would appear to have been substantially disturbed during modern times. The entire town defences were allegedly demolished during the 18th century as a general programme of renovation within the town, and it would seem that any medieval stratigraphy in the area of the ditch may have been removed at this time.
The only definite feature of medieval date was a shallow pit uncovered in one of the trenches and cut into the boulder clay. No evidence was retrieved outside, i.e. west of, the town ditch for any archaeological stratigraphy, and as this area was formerly a marshland it is unlikely that any settlement took place here before the 19th century. It is shown as an open expanse on the early plans of the town.
A small area of what may possibly represent medieval garden soil was uncovered in the south-east corner of the site, but no features were evident within it. Substantial archaeological deposits do, however, exist towards the east of the site, just south of Carroll House along Church Street. It is likely that the stratigraphy here is representative of medieval occupation along the west side of Church Street itself. Further archaeological investigations are expected to take place here in 1998.
5 Trinity Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth
