Burial in Cork City

The human skeletal remains were discovered during archaeological monitoring of ground reductions close to the street front of Number 48 Barrack Street, formerly ‘Nancy Spain’s’ public house, following the demolition of that structure ahead of the construction of a social housing scheme. The skeletal remains were revealed just below the construction formation level in this particular portion of the new development. The initially discovered skeletal remains were revealed beneath a rubble layer which underlay the concrete slab on which the former pub floor (comprising of terrazzo slabs) was set. The fragmented and partially articulated remains of two adult male individuals who were not contained within an identifiable grave cut, were revealed in the western portion of the cutting adjacent to the party wall with No.49 Barrack Street. Following further investigation of the area, a shallow mass burial pit was revealed 5m to the east-northeast of the initial discovery. The burial pit was orientated in a northeast to southwest direction and measured 2.25m long, between 0.65m and 0.76m wide (northwest to southeast) and had a maximum depth of 0.27m (below the surface of revealed natural subsoil). The foundation of the north-eastern gable wall of the former pub structure was located only 0.32m from the north-eastern end of the pit. The pit contained the largely intact skeletal remains of four individuals who were buried in a ‘head to toe’ manner. Based on the burial position of all four individuals, it was possible to discern that they had their hands/wrists bound behind their back, while their ankle areas had also likely been bound. The burial pit had been backfilled with a soft and mixed light orangish brown to mid-grey silty clay which contained inclusions dating from the medieval to modern periods (the upper surface of the fill had been subject to modern disturbance). Compiled by: David Murphy (John Cronin & Associates) Date of upload/revision: 20 July 2023