What is recorded here

Thirteen graveslabs were pulled from the River Nore in 2001, having been dumped as bridge rubble after being cleared from a graveyard near St Mary’s or St John’s. One fragment still shows a cross whose shaft swells into a small circle, topped by a faint trefoil. The dead were moved aside to build a bridge, then forgotten beneath the water until the river gave them back.

Thirteen graveslabs were recovered from the River Nore during the archaeological excavations (01E980) carried out in 2001-2003 as part of the River Nore Drainage Scheme (Doyle and O’Meara 2004, 6-20). These were found associated with the late medieval bridge (KK019-026070-), immediately N of the current John’s Bridge (ibid. 7). It is suggested that the graveslabs were deliberately cleared from a graveyard, possibly belonging to either St Mary’s parish church (KK019-026115-) c. 100m to the W or to St John’s Priory (KK019-026068-) c. 200m to the NE, and used as part of the rubble needed to form a protective apron for the piers of the late medieval bridge (ibid. 16-19). The current location of this graveslab fragment is unknown. Fragment of a limestone graveslab (01E0980: 2311), only an irregularly shaped portion (L 0.48m; Wth 0.39m; T 0.1m) of which survives (ibid. 14). It is decorated with an incised cross, though only a length of the shaft remains (ibid.). The shaft below the cross-head expands into a small incised circle (ibid.). Just above this are the partial remains of what appears to be a trefoil terminal (ibid.). Stylistically this dates to the 13th/14th century (ibid.). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 16 January 2023

Medieval Christian graveslabs, 12th–14th century. These slabs are significant as they represent funerary monuments from a period of ecclesiastical and urban development in Kilkenny, reflecting the presence of early Christian burial practices in the area.

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