1998:448 - DUNDALK: Chapel Street, Louth

The development lies south of the junction of Chapel and Yorke Streets. The site of the Seatown Gate in the town wall is marked by Gosling (1991, fig. 13) at the junction, possibly in the middle of Yorke Street, where Chapel Street turns westwards to meet it. The line of the town defences also approaches the site from the south-west.

One test-trench was excavated. A layer of loose, black clay with stone and rubble formed the uppermost layer in the trench, overlying a silt layer and another loose, black clay layer. These were post-medieval in date and together were c. 1.5m deep.

A possible ditch was exposed at the east end of the trench, part of it remaining unexposed under the footpath. It was at least 800mm deep and was filled with a very hard-packed material that did not produce finds. Another possible pit or ditch was exposed to the west; it was 9m wide east-west, but, as it was not excavated out, its depth was not recovered. This may have been the uppermost level of the town ditch as suggested for this eastern side of Dundalk by Gosling (1991, 289). Crude remains of a stone wall (max. 1m wide) were exposed west of the latter feature. While it may have run on the line of the town defence here, it was considered unlikely that the stone deposit represented remains of a town wall and more likely the remains of a modern stone wall footing.

Reference:
Gosling, P. 1991: From Dun Delca to Dundalk: the topography and archaeology of a medieval frontier town, AD c. 1187–1700. Journal of the Co. Louth Archaeological and Historical Society 22 (3), 227–353.

Roestown, Drumree, Co. Meath