2002:1316 - DROGHEDA: Meatmarket Lane, Louth

An assessment of the continuing redevelopment of Drogheda town centre was carried out at either side of Meatmarket Lane, Drogheda, Co. Louth. Meatmarket Lane connects West Street to Dyer Street and is a post-medieval laneway. Numerous late medieval features have been recorded in the immediate area by Donald Murphy, Kieran Campbell and Malachy Conway (Excavations 1996, No. 273, 96E0160; Excavations 1997, No. 378, 96E0316; Excavations 1999, No. 566; and Excavations 2000, No. 656, 99E0242).

Three north–south-oriented test-trenches were excavated, two to the east (Trenches 1 and 2) and one to the west (Trench 3) of Meatmarket Lane. Medieval stratigraphy in the form of garden soils and refuse pits was uncovered in Trenches 1 and 2, and a number of linear features probably dating to the 16th century were found in Trench 2. The pits were only partially exposed in the trenches, and their full extents were not deducible. The pit in Trench 1 (at 3.08m OD) measured at least 2m by 3.5m, and the two pits in Trench 2 (at 2.52m OD) were only barely revealed by testing. The pits contained dark brown/black, sticky, silty clay with frequent bone and shell. They were cut into subsoil, probably dated to the 13th century and contained a number of French and English ceramics, as well as numerous local fabrics. A variety of forms was also noted. Metal finds included nails, clinker nails and tacks. A fragment of a bone pin was also retrieved. A collection of animal bones was recovered from the pit, mostly cattle and sheep, some showing signs of butchery, and the partial maxilla of a small cat.

The pits were sealed by a deposit of late medieval garden soils, c. 1m thick, which also contained some local medieval pottery, bone and shell fragments. Three north–south-oriented linear features cut this deposit (at 3.59m OD) in Trench 2 and may represent a drainage feature or possibly a slot-trench. A sherd of 16th-century French ware was recovered from one of these deposits. These late medieval deposits were sealed by a number of post-medieval destruction/ garden soil levels. A well (at 4.39m OD) and a drain from the 19th century were associated with one of these layers. The well was connected to the drain by a stone overflow. A 19th-/20th-century building foundation was uncovered in Trench 3 over medieval garden soils. No earlier remains were noted in this trench.

Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth