What is recorded here

Grave Yard holds a ruined medieval church on the south slope of a shallow Kildare valley, with a possible nunnery nearby and burials from the 18th century onward gathered around the wreck. The land has been lived upon repeatedly: medieval cooking clay and parallel field furrows emerged beside later graves, while a small stream still moves through the valley not far away. People have kept returning to this quiet place, laying the dead beside old stone and leaving life marks in the soil.

On the gentle S-slope of a shallow E-W valley, through which a small stream flows W c. 60m to the N. A possible nunnery (KD027-027001-) lies c. 160m to the NNW. A very overgrown rectangular area (c. 55m E-W; c. 40m N-S) contains a ruined medieval church (O27-027----). Older, 18th and 19th-century burials are concentrated to the S of the church, while more modern burials surround it. In 2002, archaeological test-trenching (Excavation Licence no. 02E1126) was carried out at the site of a proposed housing development immediately S and W of the church and graveyard. ‘Trench 2’ at the far south of the development revealed evidence of a possible curvilinear ditch on the surface of which a sherd of local, unglazed, medieval cooking ware was found. ‘Trench 3’ at the E of the development revealed a series of eight parallel, N-S furrows. Medieval pottery was found at the base of two of the furrows, suggesting that this may have been part of a medieval field system. (http://www.excavations.ie/Pages/Details.php?Year=&County=Kildare&id=8317 Accessed 10-09-2012) Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 October 2012

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