Burial ground in Tonybaun

Located on a slight E-facing slope, 100m W of the River Moy. This previously unknown burial ground, which was established in the late 15th century, underlay a known children’s burial ground (MA038-107---). In 2003 when the children’s burial ground was fully excavated (03E0139) in advance of a realignment of the N26 road, the existence of the earlier burial ground was discovered. The excavation revealed that the walls of the children’s burial ground, most likely built in the early 1800’s, had slightly enlarged the earlier burial ground: they were built 1-2m outside an earlier enclosing wall, which was on a slightly different axis. The earlier burial ground enclosed a rectangular area (ext.: 20m E−W; 14m N−S); the enclosing wall survived only as wall footings, consisting of a double row of contiguous upright boulders and slabs. A stone-lined gap in the W wall may have been an entrance. The uppermost layers consisted of small rectangular grave settings and burials related to use of the burial ground in the modern era as a children’s burial ground (MA039-107----); the majority of these burials were of infants. Remnants of small wooden coffins held together with iron nails were found, and shroud pins of copper wire were recovered from several graves. Underlying these burials, was a layer of burials belonged to the earlier burial ground (MA039-107004-); no infants were found at that level, and the graves contained no coffin nails or other modern material. The density of burials and shallowness of the stratigraphy meant that grave-cuts were not clearly defined; many burials were disturbed or cut by later grave-digging, and the preservation of skeletal material was poor. A leacht (MA039-107001-), a small stone-built altar-like structure, stood in the W half the burial ground. It was associated with a concentration of votive stones, including water-rolled cobbles, and quartz pebbles, which were deposited by mourners. A total of 248 skeletons were recovered from the site as a whole; 181 were identified as children (the majority infants of less than 2 years) and 67 as adults. An interesting feature of the adult burials from the earliest phase was an apparently gender-related difference in the alignment of the graves: Most of the female skeletons were aligned ESE−WNW, while the majority of male skeletons were aligned E−W. Nolan (2008, 98) comments that this might indicate ‘a form of differentiation, if not separation, between the two genders, perhaps originating in the medieval practice of separate burials for men and women.’ Among the adult burials, the most common age at death was within the 25-35 years age bracket. Examination of the teeth indicated that most individuals suffered dental problems, such as cavities, periodontal or gum disease and tooth loss; all of these issues were more prevalent among the females. Thirty three skeletons showed evidence of dental enamel hypoplasia, a condition reflecting periods of poor health (e.g. fever, starvation, infections etc.) suffered when the individual’s teeth were growing. Most of the recorded incidences occurred in childhood, between the ages of 2-5 years. The teeth of one woman, who was aged between 17-25 years at death, showed that she had suffered three distinct bouts of ill health during her short life. One startling and poignant burial was of a woman (aged 25-35 years) who was pregnant at time of death. Three blade injuries on her skull indicated that she had most likely been murdered. Radiocarbon results, obtained for seven of the adult skeletons from the early phase of burials, fall within a broad date range of AD 1475–1638 to AD 1664–1951 (ibid., 98). The excavation also uncovered scant, but tantalising, evidence of a long history of occupation/settlement activity in the immediate area (Nolan 2006, 98-100). An assemblage of 247 stray flint and chert artefacts were recovered within and around the burial ground, including blades, flakes, scrapers, cores, a hollow-based arrowhead, two stone axeheads and a microlith While all were found randomly scattered through unstratified/disturbed contexts, they point to prehistoric activity in the area from the Mesolithic onward. An Iron Age metal-working site (MA039-107002-) was found 40m to N of the burial ground. Evidence of early medieval metal-working site (MA039-107004 -), underlay the burial ground, and remnants of early medieval cultivation ridges (MA039-107005-) were also uncovered. The dating evidence, however, does not support a link between this early medieval settlement and the late medieval/early modern burial ground. The early history of this intriguing burial ground –the exact circumstances of its foundation, whether it enjoyed ecclesiastical origins, as suggested perhaps by the presence of a leacht (MA039-107001-), or had unconsecrated status from the beginning, remains unknown. It is likely that it was in continuous use as a burial ground from the late 15th/early 16th century oneards; local folk tradition suggests that some of the burials relate to the period of the Famine; its final phase of use was as a children’s burial ground (MA039-107----) in the modern era. Following the excavation, the skeletal remains were reburied with full funeral rites in the parish graveyard (MA039-053002-) at Ballynahaglish. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 15 April 2020