County: Louth Site name: DROGHEDA: 30 Magdalene Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 24:41 Licence number: 98E0323
Author: Donald Murphy, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 708867m, N 775462m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.717466, -6.350600
Archaeological assessment was carried out on a proposed commercial development at 30 Magdalene Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth. The site is within the medieval town and lies to the north of St Peter's parish church.
Two trenches were excavated. Trench 1 ran north-south across the site and was 4m long and 0.8m wide. Under the 19th-century garden soil a layer of light brown, compact clay was exposed that was 18th century or later in date and contained residual medieval pottery. This layer pre-dated the boundary wall of the site. A number of small pits were cut through this layer. At the south end of the trench a thin layer of compacted burnt pebbles underlay the garden soil and overlay a compacted mortar, stone and brick path up to 0.12m thick. A pit was cut through the light brown clay and contained medieval and early post-medieval pottery. The clay overlay natural, orange boulder clay, which the pit also truncated to 25.933m OD.
The second trench was orientated east-west and was 6m long and 1m wide. On removal of the garden soil, up to 0.42m deep, a layer of light brown clay with an 18th-century date was encountered and overlay natural boulder clay at 26.035m OD. The mortar feature found in Trench 1, interpreted as a pathway, was also found in this trench, running to its northern limit, and was up to 0.3m wide.
15 Trinity Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth
