Burial ground

The National Monuments Service's description

Human bones were discovered in 1969 in the course of the widening of the Sligo – Bundoran road and the site was inspected by a member of the National Museum of Ireland (NMI file) who recorded the following: ‘An old road (noted on 1st Ed. O.S. map 1838) is being removed to allow the construction of portion of a proposed wider Sligo-Bundoran road. The old road runs N-S and, for a part of its length, has been cut away very slightly. Bones were noted in the uppermost portion of the face of this cutting which is some 3.5cm. deep. The bones occurred immediately below the 10cm or so of the old road surface visible in the cutting face, and rested on undisturbed boulder clay. They occurred to a depth of 60cm. below the road surface and extended for a distance of approx. 20 metres, in the cutting face. Bones protruded haphazardly from the face and it appeared as if earlier burials had been disturbed by successive later ones. It was not possible to judge the orientation of the skeletons which were apparently unprotected. There were no finds. . . A local inhabitant . . . who lived nearby, told me that she remembered a tradition that the portions of the gardens of Lisnalurg House nearest the road were never dug ‘because of the bones’. If this is the case the cemetery might extend inwards from the cutting face for at least 8 metres. Further along the face of the cutting 12 metres from the apparent edge of the cemetery a large approx. saucer-shaped deposit [SL014-016002-] of burnt clay and stones and flecks of charcoal was visible at approx. the same level as the cemetery. The visible portion of this deposit measured 4 metres across and its bottom was 60cm below the road surface; it consisted of layers of burnt stones, patches of charcoal, layers of ash etc. and was apparently either a hearth or an ash pit. No artifacts were noted.’ The location of this monument is that recorded in the NMI file. There is no visible surface trace of this burial ground. (Cahill and Sikora 2011, Vol. 2, 513)

Compiled by: Paul Walsh

Date of upload: 20 January 2014

References

Cahill, M. and Sikora, M. (eds) 2011 Breaking ground, finding graves - reports on the excavations of burials by the National Museum of Ireland, 1927-2006, 2 vols. Dublin. Wordwell Ltd. in association with the National Museum of Ireland.