1970:29 - HOLYCROSS td, Tipperary

The 1970 programme of excavations at Holycross by the National Parks and Monuments Branch was designed to investigate and record the archaeological interest in the parts of the abbey to be affected by the proposed restoration where disturbance of the ground would take place and future examination would not be possible. The whole interior of the abbey church, until recently used as a burial ground, was excavated to rock surface and the burials were re-interred in a specially provided plot in the adjoining parish cemetery. A strip of ground 20 feet in width surrounding the church on all sides was examined which provided much knowledge and understanding of the structure and building history of the church. The information thus obtained was tested and supplemented by selective excavation in other parts of the abbey - the Cloister, the Abbot’s garden and certain rooms in the east and west ranges. The most important result of the investigation was the clarification of the structural history of the abbey church: the original (12th century) church was for the most part taken down in the 15th century and replaced by a smaller but beautiful abbey church which survives today; the remainder (the west end) was converted into a church for secular use. The remains of wall foundations uncovered during the investigation outside the west gable are tentatively regarded as evidence for the historically recorded Benedictine Monastery (the House of St. Benedict do Sancte Cruce) which was taken over by the Cistercians in 1182 but confirmation of this must await future excavation.