What is recorded here

Kells Upper By. is a steep south-facing burial ground where at least six people lie on their backs with heads pointing west, shallow enough that topsoil and roots may still touch them. The town wall looms above the slope, while a hidden ditch and gullies mark the edges of a forgotten precinct. To walk this grass is to step across chests and dreams, not empty earth.

Located on a steep S-facing slope with part of the town wall of Kells at the top of the slope and the probable line of another N-S section of the town wall just to the E. Archaeological testing (01E1023) identified an extensive area (dims c. 50m E-W; c. 30m N-S), perhaps delimited by linear gullies at E and W, with human remains. Six W-E supine inhumations with the heads at W were in the topsoil (D 0.5-0.7m) and further inhumations may lie at a deeper level. The tested area has numerous linear features such as gullies and a large ditch running parallel with the N-S line of the town wall could be interpreted as a town ditch. Other features, including burnt mound material at four points and extraneous burials further to the W, were also noted. (Halpin and Doyle 2007) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload; 26 February 2021

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