County: Louth Site name: Ardee Lane, Dundalk
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A, PRS ID. D10 Licence number: Unlicensed
Author: Caroline Cosgrove, Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 703951m, N 806329m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.995734, -6.414610
Unlicensed monitoring was carried out at Ardee Lane, Dundalk. The fieldwork took place on 13 April 2021 using a 3-tonne tracked excavator. The site is located in Parnell Park townland and is bordered by Ardee Terrace to the north and to the east. This site was also located within the curtilage of a group of three interconnecting brick-built former railway buildings, built c.1885 and a protected structure ref: D10 on Dundalks RPS and NIAH Registration No: 13900715. An Architectural Heritage Survey compiled by Fergal McGirl noted that “although there are no known historical associations with the buildings, the laboratory building is noted on the NIAH as being of historical interest, presumably in relation to its social function within the overall scheme”. He also noted that the site was not in the zone of archaeological interest under the Louth Development Plan.
At the time of monitoring, the site was covered in scrub and felled trees. These were subsequently removed. An area that measured c. 15m north-south by c. 21.2m was marked east of the red brick laboratory building. This demarcated the extent of the proposed buildings. Overhead lines ran north-south in the centre of the area to be stripped. As a large 3-tonne excavation machine was being used, it was not deemed safe to strip the full 15m by 21.2m area. A 7m buffer line was marked east and west of the overhead lines (as required by law) and it was decided to strip the rest of the area in 3 trenches of varying sizes.
Trench 1 was located immediately east of the concrete surrounding the laboratory building. It measured 15m north-south by 5.4m and was excavated to a depth of 0.3m. The sod/topsoil was removed onto a light brown/orange boulder clay that was mottled due to the disturbance of tree roots. Trench 2 was located 7m east of the overhead lines. It measured 15m north-south by 1.8m and was excavated to a depth of 0.28m. Trench 3 was opened from the centre of Trench 1 to the centre of Trench 2. It measured 14m east-west by 1.8m and was excavated to a depth of 0.24m. The sod/topsoil consisted of a loose dark brown silty clay with frequent roots, occasional red brick and occasional modern rubbish. No features of archaeological significance were identified and no finds were recovered. The work is now complete and no further mitigation is necessary.
Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co Louth
