County: Louth Site name: DUNDALK: Bridge Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 03E1011
Author: Finola O'Carroll
Site type: Historic town
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 704668m, N 807983m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.010448, -6.403108
The site is located at the north end of Bridge Street, Dundalk. It is on the west side of the street c. 50m from Dundalk Bridge. Testing was undertaken in advance of a proposed development of two apartment buildings.
Eleven trenches were excavated by mechanical digger within the proposed development area, five in the eastern side of the site in Area 1 and six in the western side in Area 2. A number of features were uncovered. Stray finds included glazed red earthenware, black earthenware and some medieval pottery. One of the features appears to be a medieval rubbish pit, in Trench 5 in Area 1. It was uncovered beneath a shallow overburden of mixed clays with some brick. Approximately half of the pit was exposed, recorded and then covered with membrane and gravel and backfilled.
The next phase consisted of monitoring the foundation trenches of Building 1 in Area 1. A trench was excavated around the perimeter and a cross-section trench was excavated through its centre, dividing it into four quarters. One pit feature was recorded in this last phase of excavation, in Centre Trench West.
CRDS Ltd, Unit 4, Dundrum Business Park, Dundrum, Dublin 14
