What is recorded here

Beneath the later graves of Tonybaun, iron slag and a crushed crucible still mark the place where heat and hammer shaped metal a thousand years ago. Children buried there in the modern era rested above that old fire, unknowing participants in a long line of human activity stretching back through the early medieval centuries. The road realignment exposed the layering: industry first, settlement second, mourning third, all compressed into one narrow strip of Mayo earth.

In 2003 an archaeological excavation took place in advance of a realignment of the N26 road at a burial ground (MA039-107003-), which was established in the late 15th century, and was later reused in the modern era as a children’s burial ground (MA039-107----) (Nolan 2006, 89-101). An Iron Age metal-working site (MA039-107002-) was found 40m to N of the burial ground. The excavation also uncovered a suite of features and artefacts in and underlying the burial ground that indicate early medieval settlement activity (Nolan 2006, 99-100). Stray pieces of iron slag were found amongst the burials, and a fragment of a clay crucible, used for metal-working, was built into one of the stone grave settings. A charcoal-flecked sandy horizon, incorporating vitrified sand and iron slag interpreted as metalworking residue, was found in situ beneath the burial ground, and was radiocarbon-dated to AD 882–1015. Underlying this was a charcoal-rich layer, radiocarbon-dated to AD 772–969. Cultivation ridges (MA039-107005-), which were uncovered immediately adjacent to the burial ground, also yielded an early medieval date. This evidence opens a small window on to several phases of early medieval industrial and agricultural activity in the area, although it is not possible to determine the exact nature of this settlement. (Nolan 2006, 99-100). Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 15 April 2020

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