County: Louth Site name: DROGHEDA: River Boyne, Lakelands/Scotch Hall
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 03D037; 03R052
Author: David A. McCullough, for The Archaeological Diving Company Ltd.
Site type: Quay and Town defences
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 709653m, N 775244m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.715348, -6.338769
An underwater, intertidal archaeological and metal-detector survey of the South Quay at the former Lakelands Dairies and Scotch Hall sites in Drogheda, Co. Louth, made a detailed record of the quay wall and associated areas of riverbed as part of the archaeological requirement for the enabling works associated with the development of this site. The landside was resolved under the direction of Thaddeus Breen (No. 1239, Excavations 2003) as a joint venture between ADCO and V.J. Keeley Ltd.
The riverbed has been subject to dumping from both the quayside and from the vessels using this area over time and is covered with modern debris. Continuous metal-detector readings were encountered throughout the surveyed area, and, while most of the targets identified were of modern date, several archaeological items were recovered as stray finds. These objects were concentrated on the riverside of a medieval waterfront building on South Quay discovered by Niall Brady in a previous assessment (Excavations 2001, No. 848, 01D077), at the upstream end of the works area. The survey identified the extension of the medieval town wall to the modern waterfront and concluded that the larger area of present-day riverfront is not ancient, and dates mainly from the 19th century.
41 The Orchard, Kilkenny
