County: Louth Site name: Old Abbey Lane, Drogheda
Sites and Monuments Record No.: LH024-041011 Licence number: E005523; C001203
Author: Donald Murphy, Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit Ltd
Site type: Urban
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 708504m, N 775228m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.715436, -6.356189
Archaeological monitoring was carried at the grounds of the Augustinian Friars (RMP LH0124-04011-) under Ministerial Consent C001203, Reg. N0. E005523. A service pit had been re-excavated on 26 June 2023 prior to ministerial consent being granted. It measured c. 2m by 2m by 1.48m depth. It contained three east to west aligned pipes, two comprised of plastic and the third was ceramic. The pit had a sloping concrete base. The fill of the pit (C3) was a dark brown silty clay with frequent stone, animal bone, occasional red brick fragments, occasional oyster shell, occasional modern glazed pottery sherds and fragments of human bone. Because ministerial consent had not been given, the pit was backfilled and it was lined with geotextile. Upon granting of ministerial consent, the pit was emptied on an intermitted basis, the upcast spoil was systematically spread for visual assessment of finds and then subjected to sieving to enhance finds retrieval.
A total of 513 animal bone fragments were recovered from the pit. The presence of cattle, sheep/goat, pig, fish and birds were identified within assemblages. Eight fragments of human bone were also recovered from the pit. They were disturbed from their original anatomical position on an articulated skeleton, DSK1.
A drainage gully was excavated east to west along the northern boundary of the site. It measured 21m length by 0.6m width by 0.4m depth. It was excavated through sand for the initial 13m west to east and then through sand and a thin band of (C4) dark brown silty clay down onto cobbles for 3.6m. The cobbles comprised large sub-rounded stones bonded with a dark brown silty clay. They formed the shape of a gully and ran into a cast iron storm drain to the east. Finds from above included glass, metal bottle tops, tin drink cans and a 20p coin from 1988. A further 4m of drainage was excavated to the east through sand and gravel.
The works are now complete, no further mitigation is required.
Unit 21 Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth. A92 DH99.
