County: Louth Site name: DUNDALK HARBOUR
Sites and Monuments Record No.: LH007-119 Licence number: 03E1737 ext.
Author: Kieran Campbell
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 709675m, N 807345m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.003677, -6.326985
Monitoring, continued from 2003 (Excavations 2003, No. 1252), was conducted over two twelve-hour shifts on the grab dredger Hebble Sand during maintenance dredging at Perch 7, Dundalk Port, on 19 and 23 February 2004. Perch 7 is situated on the north side of the outer channel, 1.5km east of Soldiers' Point. The perch or beacon stands at the southern edge of a gravel bank known as Shell Island. The onboard monitoring archaeologist was Labhaoise McKenna. As the tide receded during the course of the dredging shift, the vessel became grounded and dredging took place on both sides and around the bow of the stationary vessel. The material excavated consisted of sand, gravel and silt/mud, with frequent inclusions of shell.
Several features of potential archaeological or historical interest were observed from the dredger lying beyond the training walls on, or near, Shell Island. Approximately seven uprights arranged in two converging lines protrude from the stony surface towards the south side of Shell Island. It is unclear if the uprights are wood, stone or concrete. These are possibly the remnants of an earlier navigational beacon. Two small posts or poles (c. 0.1m diameter?) are visible in the mud c. 5m west of Shell Island. A deposit of stones, forming a small elongated mound c. 2–3m in length, was observed in sand c. 80m west of the island. These features were not accessible for closer examination.
6 St Ultan's, Laytown, Drogheda
