- BALLINTLEA, CO. LAOIS, Laois

Introduction
In July 1953 two human skeletons were discovered during the clearing of a roadside bank near Timahoe, Co. Laois. Approximately 3m of bank had been cleared for the entrance when the bones were discovered. The bank was overgrown with bushes and its section showed a core of yellow gravel-rich soil underneath a layer of humus. The burials lay lengthwise along the side of the bank. According to the workmen it was apparent that they lay at a depth of 0.3–0.4m below the surface of the bank and that the bank had been built above them without disturbing them in any way. The NMI was alerted to the find by the Garda Síochána at Stradbally, Co. Laois. The site was investigated by Dr A.T. Lucas. Only one burial could be examined in any detail as the other had been badly damaged. This report is based on Lucas’s notes.

Location
The site was in the townland of Ballintlea, Co. Laois, about 1.5km south of Timahoe.⁴³ No further details of the location have been noted. There are no known sites of similar type in the locality but there were some local traditions of a burial ground in the general area.

Description of site
The graves were almost side by side, aligned west/east. The second grave—the only intact grave—lay on compact, undisturbed gravel-rich soil. There was no evidence for stone protection around the grave. Five large stones were found embedded in the road bank above the graves but had been removed by the time of Lucas’s visit. They measured up to 1.8m in length and were roughly square in section, tapering somewhat to one end. They had all been roughly shaped by having large spalls chipped off the surface. No marks of any kind could be seen on them. Lucas concluded that the stones were of comparatively recent manufacture and that they may have been intended for a fence or a corn-stack stand, the larger ends to be embedded in the ground to give stability.
The grave contained an extended inhumation (1953:46.1–2) aligned west/east. No accompanying artefacts were found. The foot bones had been accidentally disturbed and the skull shattered, but the remainder of the skeleton was in relatively good condition. The body lay in a supine position, fully extended with the hands lying across the pelvic region.

Comment
In the absence of associated finds or other dating evidence these burials must be regarded as undated. The position of the hands is generally regarded as an indicator of Christian burial in the medieval period. No report on the human remains is available for this site.

43. Parish of Ballyadams, barony of Ballyadams. OS 6in. sheet 19. Unfortunately the location of this site was not marked on a map