- NAAS EAST, CO. KILDARE, Kildare

Introduction
In May 1972, during the levelling of an area for building, human remains were discovered at a site just outside the town of Naas, Co. Kildare. The bones, initially thought to be the remains of an animal, were discovered at a depth of 1m below ground level. The find was reported to the NMI by Captain Con Costello, a neighbour of the landowner. The site was investigated by Joseph Raftery on 21 May 1972 and was found to be a burial pit containing four inhumations. As there is no excavation report on file, this report is based on Dr Raftery’s sketches, photographs and correspondence. The human remains were originally examined by Professor C. A. Erskine but have been re-examined by Laureen Buckley.

Location (Fig. 5.8)
The site was in the townland of Naas East in east County Kildare.¹² It was located on a small gravel ridge between 100m and 200m above sea level. The site is close to the main road between Sallins and Naas near a site called Gallow’s Glen. No other burials are known from the immediate vicinity.

Description of site
The grave consisted of a round-bottomed pit measuring 0.7m wide by 0.7m deep. The top of the pit lay 0.3m below ground level.¹³ The line of the pit was clearly visible in the section, as it was dug into sand and gravel, and the fill consisted of a ‘dull red clay’ intermixed with stones, some measuring up to 0.15m across. The pit contained four inhumation burials. An unidentified piece of iron was found next to the femur of one of the bodies but there were otherwise no associated artefacts.¹⁴ The remains were visible in section at the base of the pit and were seen to occur at two levels (Pl. 99): two burials (1 and 3) almost directly overlay two others (2 and 4). The burials lay on a south-east/north-west axis, with the heads to the southeast. Beginning at the upper level, the burial consisted of an extended inhumation (1972:85) in a supine position with the left forearm over the pelvic region. The right arm seems to have been disturbed and the lower leg bones probably fell out of the section of the pit. The skull leaned slightly towards the left shoulder. The remains represented an adult male of small stature (160–162cm in height).

Skeleton 3 (1972:85) lay immediately south of skeleton 1, apparently at the same level. The remains represented a female seventeen years of age. The skull was not present in this

Fig. 5.8—Location map, Naas East, Co. Kildare.

burial. Skeleton 2 (1972:87) lay almost directly underneath skeleton 1. Raftery’s plans do not detail this level and only the femora can be seen on the plans and photographs. This had been identified by Professor C. A. Erskine as the remains of a child of fourteen years. There was no skull associated with this burial and the sex of the individual could not be determined. The fourth skeleton (1972:88) underlay skeleton 3 and lay at the same level as skeleton 2. As was the case with the latter, the existing plans or photographs do not show this burial exposed. According to Erskine, the remains were very incomplete, missing the ribs, vertebrae, upper limbs and most of the skull. The remains have been identified as those of an eighteen-yearold male. No other information was available as to the disposition of the skeletons at the lower level. Two samples of the human remains were submitted for radiocarbon dating. Skeleton 1 (1972:85) yielded a date of 395±40 BP, which calibrates to 1435–1634.¹⁵ Skeleton 2 (1972:87) yielded a date of 290±40 BP, which calibrates to 1482–1795.¹⁶

Comment
These burials were only dated through radiocarbon dating. The burial of four individuals in a pit is unusual in this period, as is the placement of the skeletons in a head-to-toe fashion, and may indicate that these individuals died as a result of something like an acute infection. This may explain the depth at which the bodies were placed. Burial outside of consecrated ground would also be unusual for this period.

HUMAN REMAINS
LAUREEN BUCKLEY

Introduction
It is obvious from the photographs and the completeness of the burials that burials 1 and 3 lay over burials 2 and 4 but in the opposite direction.

Burial 1: late middle adult, male
Although this burial was described as being complete as far as the lower legs, and the initial report by Professor C. A. Erskine describes the skull as being complete, the skull is not present among the remains deposited in the National Museum. It is probable that the skull was kept for the professor’s collection and was not returned.

Apart from some damage to the sacrum and sternum, the axial skeleton, consisting of the scapulae, clavicle, ribs, vertebrae and pelvis, was virtually complete. The arm bones were complete and most of the hand bones were present, apart from the left and right pisiform, left lunate and some of the phalanges. The femurs and patellae were complete but the lower leg bones and feet were missing.

Age and sex
All the features of the pelvis, including the sciatic notch, the sub-pubic angle and sub-pubic concavity, were typical male features. Examination of the pubic symphyses indicated an age of over 35 years at time of death and the auricular surface of the ilium was placed in the 35–44 age bracket. This was similar to the 34–42 age range estimated from the sternal end of the ribs. It is therefore probably safe to assume that this was a middle adult in the later age range of 35–44 years at the time of death.

Skeletal pathology
Spina bifida occulta was present on the first sacral vertebra only, but this was the only complete sacral vertebra present. There was a poorly healed fracture near the sternal end of a middle left rib. As the individual was not old, very few degenerative joint changes were noted.

Mild marginal lipping was noted on the posterior joint surfaces between the first and second cervical vertebrae and between the lower thoracic vertebrae T8–T10. Moderate lipping was noted on the joints between the middle thoracic vertebrae T5 and T6. Mild osteophytosis was noted on the upper vertebral bodies T2–T4 and also on T11, and there were moderate osteophytes between T9 and T10. The costal facets of the middle thoracic vertebrae as well as T12 were mildly porotic. Very mild degenerative changes were noted on three left ribs and one right rib. The only non-vertebral joints to show some evidence of degenerative changes were the left acetabulum, which had some mild lipping of the inferior margin, and the left proximal radial–ulnar joint, with both surfaces showing a slight degree of porosity. The first costal cartilage was ossified.

Burial 2: juvenile, 8–14 years
This skeleton lay directly under burial 1 but in the opposite direction to it. The head would have been lying to the north-west and the feet to the south-east. Owing to the way the burial pit had been disturbed, the upper part of this burial was mostly scraped away.

The skull, upper vertebrae and ribs were missing. Only the tenth thoracic vertebra, the lumbar and the first two sacral vertebrae survived. The left ulna and distal half of the left radius were present from the left arm and the right arm bones were complete. Only the left trapezium, left first metacarpal and one proximal phalanx survived from the left hand, and the right hand consisted of the lunate, hamate, third and fourth metacarpals and nine phalanges. The left and the right ilium remained from the pelvis and were complete. Both femurs and tibiae were complete but only the shaft of the left fibula was present and the distal half of the right fibula survived. The distal ends of the left femur and tibia were fragmented, however. Most of the left tarsals, apart from the first and second cuneiform, were present but that was all that remained of the foot bones.

Epiphyseal fusion
All the observable epiphyses at the ends of the long bones were unfused. The acetabulum was also unfused. As the distal humerus epiphysis was unfused the individual was probably less than fifteen years at the time of death. The unfused acetabulum indicates a probable age of less than fourteen years. As the epiphysis at the olecranon of the ulna was present but unfused the individual was definitely over eight years of age at the time of death. The lengths of the long bones are consistent with an older juvenile age of nine to eleven years at the time of death. Therefore the juvenile was probably around ten years of age but definitely less than fourteen years at the time of death.

Skeletal pathology
No pathological changes were noted on the bones.

Burial 3: adolescent male, 14–17 years
This burial lay to the north of burial 1 and was directly over burial 4. It lay south-east/northwest with the head to the south-east. The skull and most of the vertebral column were missing, with only the lower four lumbar vertebrae present. There were three ribs from the left side and five from the right side present. Only part of the distal end of the humerus and the complete radius and ulna survived from the left arm. The distal two-thirds of the right humerus and right radius were present, as well as part of the proximal shaft of the right ulna. The left hand consisted of all five metacarpals and seven phalanges, while the right hand consisted of the scaphoid, trapezium, trapezoid and capitate, five metacarpals and eleven phalanges. The left ilium was complete and the right ilium was virtually complete. Both ischia and the right pubic bone were complete and part of the left pubic bone was present. The first two sacral vertebrae survived from the sacrum. Both femurs and the right patella were complete. The shafts of the left tibia and fibula were present and only the proximal two-thirds remained from the right tibia and fibula. There were no foot bones present.

Sex
All the observable features of the pelvis, including the ventral arc, sub-pubic concavity, subpubic angle and the sciatic notch, were typical male features. It is therefore highly likely that this was a male adolescent.

Epiphyseal fusion
The acetabulum was fused, indicating that the individual was at least over fourteen years by the time of death. The femoral head was fused, again indicating an age of over fourteen years, but the greater trochanter was only partially fused, indicating an age of less than eighteen years. The epiphysis at the proximal end of the radius was unfused and this is usually fused in males by seventeen years. Therefore it is likely that this adolescent male was between fourteen and seventeen years of age at the time of death.

Burial 4: young adult male
This burial lay to the south of burial 2, directly below burial 3. It consisted of the lower half only but was in a good state of preservation. No skull, vertebrae, ribs or upper limb bones were present. Only fragments of both ischia and the fifth sacral vertebra remained from the pelvis. The femurs, patellae and tibiae were complete and only the proximal ends were missing from the fibulae. All the tarsals and metatarsals were present, and there were four proximal phalanges from the right foot and one distal phalanx from each foot.

Age and sex
The sex was estimated from metric measurements of the ends of the long bones, which were consistent with this being a male individual. The epiphyses at the ends of the long bones were fused and the epiphyses at the ischial tuberosities were just fused. The individual was therefore over sixteen years of age at the time of death but probably not more than twenty.

Summary and conclusions
The four burials found in this pit were buried in a head-to-toe fashion, i.e. the upper burials were placed on top of the two lower burials but lying in the opposite direction. It seems highly likely, therefore, that they were all buried at the same time, presumably as the result of one episode. Although the burials were incomplete owing to the nature of their discovery, the complete absence of wounds suggests that death was not the result of a violent incident. It is more likely that death was caused by acute disease or famine or a combination of both. The pit for the burials was dug relatively deeply at 1m. It is not uncommon for Early Christian burials to be found just below the topsoil layer or certainly in much shallower graves. Victims of the Great Famine, if they were buried at all, would more likely have been buried in shallow graves, as it takes considerable strength to dig a deep pit. Famines and epidemics were very common in early and late medieval Ireland, however, and any one of these could have caused the death of this group. If an acute infection caused the swift death of these four people, it is more than likely that there were still enough strong individuals in the community to bury them deeply.

The burials consisted of one middle adult male, probably aged 35–44 years at the time of death, one young adult male aged 16–20 years, one adolescent male aged 14–17 years and one juvenile aged 8–14 years. There was no evidence of chronic disease on the younger individuals; acute disease does not have time to leave a trace on the skeleton, as death or recovery occurs very quickly. The middle adult had some indications of degeneration of the joints, particularly in the vertebral region, but the relatively minor changes were consistent with what would be expected at his age. He also had a fracture of a rib, which, although it had not healed, could have occurred a considerable time before death. This individual also had spina bifida occulta of at least the first sacral vertebra. This condition, in which the dorsal surface of the sacrum fails to close, is not serious as the spinal chord is adequately covered with membranes and ligaments in this area. The condition is asymptomatic and the individual was probably not aware that he had it.

12. Parish of Naas, barony of Naas North. SMR KD019-063——. IGR 290075 220091.
13. As the excavation report is missing from the file, the shape and dimensions of the pit in plan are not known.
14. This was not located during the course of this project.
15. GrA-24353.
16. GrA-24587.