County: Louth Site name: DROGHEDA: 9a–11 Magdalene Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: LH024–041 Licence number: 06E0952
Author: Sinclair Turrell, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Historic town
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 709427m, N 775817m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.720537, -6.341996
Test-trenching was carried out at Nos 9A–11 Magdalene Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth, in advance of the proposed construction of a four-storey unit of commercial usage. The proposed development site is located on the western side of Magdalene Street, south of the junction with Green Lane. It is situated in the area bounded by the medieval walls of Drogheda, within the zone of archaeological potential of Drogheda town.
Testing was carried out on 3 and 4 October 2006. Six trenches were dug through the proposed development site, four aligned roughly east–west and two roughly north–south. The upper fills of the ground within the development site were found to be loose, post-medieval overburden deposits. The subsoil was sloped from north-east to south-west and was found at levels of between 1.7 and 2.5m throughout the majority of the site. The subsoil level rises considerably at the eastern side of the site to c. 0.8m below the existing ground surface.
Archaeological material and subsoil-cut features were identified within all six trenches. Of particular interest was the discovery of at least two probable pottery kilns in the trench adjacent to Magdalene Street. These kilns clearly relate to the medieval pottery production centre found during excavation by Eoin Halpin of the adjacent Old Mart site in 2004 (Excavations 2004, No. 1085).
Another significant discovery was the probable continuation of the east–west-aligned medieval boundary ditch, also originally identified in the adjacent Old Mart site. This feature was uncovered in three of the four north–south-oriented trenches.
In addition to the probable medieval pottery kilns and ditch, a variety of other possible medieval features were noted. These consisted of irregular spreads, linear cuts and a series of subrectangular pits. A number of foundation walls and a cellar were also recorded, all of early modern or post-medieval origin, with no evidence of any medieval fabric.
The discovery of archaeology in all of the six test-trenches would suggest that further archaeological remains also survive across the untested parts of the proposed development site.
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