Graveyard in Glebe (newcastle By., Wickow Rural Ed)

In 2006 a significant excavation under licence no. 06E0091 was undertaken in Glebe townland under Knockrobbin Hill. A previously unlocated church (WI025-011001-) and cemetery site was discovered adjacent to the Rathnew/Wicklow town road. A total of 191 burials were uncovered, enclosed within a series of ditches. The burials date from the early medieval period (c. ad 600) and appear to continue in an unbroken sequence up to at least ad 1600. The foundations of a stone church were also recorded during the excavations. It is suggested that the discovery is the church site of ‘Drumkay’. Previous documentary and cartographic evidence suggested that the site was located c. 400m to the north-east (Bennett 2009, 578). The church, Phase I The foundations of a substantial stone church were uncovered in the centre of the site. The primary church building measured 14.65m east–west by 7.3m externally. The church, Phase II The east wall of the church was clearly removed at some point. A new east wall was constructed 1.6m to the west. Thus the remodelled church (Phase II) was shorter than the original building. The Phase II structure measured 12.05m east–west by 7.3m externally. The church, Phase III A walled annexe or ancillary building was added to the eastern end of the church. The annexe measured 4.2m east–west by 5.5m externally, with internal dimensions of 3.5m east–west by 4m. The east wall of the annexe building (F841) was 4m to the east of the Phase II church and parallel to the earlier east wall. The annexe wall was built from rubble. It was clearly later than the Phase I and Phase II building, as the base of its foundation was higher than the bases of the other walls; it was also stratigraphically above the east end of the Phase I church wall. It measured 5m long and survived to a width varying between 0.2 and 0.51m. It was of mixed rubble construction, which included limestone, granite, sandstone and a small amount of mudstone. A number of burials were interred over this wall, including Burial XXX, which was directly over it. The wall was robbed-out in places, with a gap where a later burial cut through it. A large sandstone boulder (0.55m by 0.59m by 0.29m) at the north end of F841 marked the corner between it (F841) and the north wall (F776) of the annexe. The north wall ran east–west. It survived only to a height of one to two courses and was constructed of smaller stones than the rest of the walls associated with the church, with a mixture of sandstone, limestone and mudstone. The stones varied from 0.15m by 0.08m by 0.08m, to 0.36m by 0.26m by 0.06m. This may suggest that it was associated with a separate phase of construction, probably contemporary with F841. F776 survived to a total length of 3.75m (including the sandstone boulder linking F776 with F841). It measured 0.47m in width at the western end, widening to 0.61m at the point where it turned to join the east wall (F841). Ditches and boundaries The church was surrounded by three enclosure ditches and a fourth post-medieval field boundary. The earliest of these was also the innermost ditch, which was located at the brow of the hill. It was excavated to a length of 26.5m and continued under the western baulk of the site. The terminal of the ditch was quite ephemeral and appeared to slope gradually upwards to the east. This ditch had a maximum depth of 0.75m and contained two fills. The lower fill was a mid-brown silty clay, with moderate inclusions of small stones (c. 0.05m in diameter) and a maximum depth of 0.34m. The upper fill was mid-orangey-brown silty/sandy clay with similar inclusions to the lower fill. This fill had a depth of 0.24m. There were no finds from this ditch. It was cut on its southern side by the second ditch. This was recorded over a 19m length, with a maximum depth of 0.6m and width of 2m. No definitive terminus was identified and it gradually petered out to the east. The basal fill consisted of a mid-orangey-brown sandy clay. The secondary fill consisted of a brown silty clay. A stone perforated pendant was found within this fill. The upper fill of the ditch was a mid-brown silty clay with some sand and occasional mottling of yellow clay. The second ditch was in turn cut by a later ditch located immediately outside it. The third ditch had an excavated length of 32m, with a maximum depth of 0.9m and a maximum width of 2.4m. It had a maximum of six fills, with only three visible in some sections. The lowest fill was a clayey silt that was very similar to the surrounding natural. It is probable that this was a natural silting of the ditch. The remaining fills consisted of a clayey silty sand and silt. The three enclosure ditches followed the same course on the site, along a break of slope roughly parallel to the wall of the church. A fourth ditch of post-medieval date cut across the earlier enclosures at a different angle. It appears that the later post-medieval ditch followed the line of the earlier enclosing elements of the site and removed evidence for them as it continued north-east and north. The enclosure ditches mirror the orientation of the church walls marking the limit of the burial-ground. The burials were mainly contained within the line of the two inner ditches. Three burials (Burials I, LXXV and LXIV) were within the upper fill of the two innermost ditches. This supports the interpretation that the ditches were not contemporary and were realigned as the cemetery expanded. The overall dimensions of the enclosing ditches, including the extents uncovered within the test-trenches, surround a site c. 33m north–south by 47m. Burials A total of 191 burials were excavated on the Glebe site. This number includes truncated burials, where later activity (often burial) removed part of the earlier burial, and burials where some or all of the bone has degraded. In cases where bone has completely decayed, evidence for the presence of a burial was recorded through the observation of a visible grave-cut into the boulder clay. Fifteen infants, 48 juveniles and 120 adults were excavated on the site. There were eight empty grave-cuts, where the skeletons had disintegrated completely. Additional burials are likely to have been interred at the site where neither the bone nor grave-cut has survived. The predominant burial rite was extended inhumation in the supine position, while a small number had flexed limbs. The majority of the burials were orientated east–west, with the skull to the west, indicating a Christian tradition. They were tightly clustered within and outside the walls of the church. The burials varied in date, with some pre-dating the church, such as the lintel grave (Burial CLX) which ran under the southern wall of the church. Burials XC and LXXXIII ran under the north–south wall of the church and were therefore earlier than the church structure. Burials such as CXXXIV and LVI were more accurately orientated in line with the church than others, such as Burial LIX. This would suggest that some individuals were buried in a period where the orientation of the church was less influential, perhaps pre-dating the church, or from a period after it fell out of use. Other burials, such as Burial XXX, which lay directly over the stones of the north–south wall, clearly post-date the building (Bennett 2009, 578-9). Date of upload: 22 October 2012