County: Kildare Site name: CELBRIDGE: Stacumny House
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 11:21 Licence number: 97E0119
Author: Una Cosgrave, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Graveyard
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 697330m, N 733180m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.339897, -6.538459
At the request of the developer, the archaeological implications of the development were assessed after the discovery of human remains while ground reduction was being undertaken to construct a swimming pool and associated services and outbuildings. Further to discussions with the National Monuments Service, it was agreed that two test-trenches, both 18.5m x 2m, would be excavated to establish the limits of the burials or other archaeology on the site. A third cutting, 15m x 1m, was opened at the request of the National Monuments Service within the 'barn' structure. Cuttings 1 and 2 were extended to abut the 'barn' structure in order to examine its foundations in an attempt to ascertain its date.
The area of the pool tank was excavated by hand following the mechanical removal of building rubble and overburden. The foundations in the area required for the pool building were also excavated in a similar manner and the associated services monitored.
Area 1, north of Cutting 1 (8m x 21m), was stripped by mechanical digger. Skeletal material was recovered and reduction continued by hand. This involved the archaeological resolution of the footprint of the building to bedrock and the reduction of the internal floor area by 0.4m.
A series of fifteen service trenches were excavated by mechanical digger to archaeologically significant levels and subsequently five were excavated by hand.
A number of finds inadvertently left in the site hut were stolen. The majority were recovered a short time later but eleven items were not. These include an undecorated bone comb, two bronze stick-pins, a glass bead and a selection of copper and silver coins. This theft was immediately reported to the Gardaí, the National Museum of Ireland and the National Monuments Service.
A total of 728 inhumations, excluding disarticulated human remains, were recorded, together with a number of possibly medieval and post-medieval pits, drains, cobbling and metalled surfaces. A substantial number of medieval pottery sherds were found, as were medieval floor tiles, stick-pins, a ring-headed pin, a bone comb, coffin nails, glass beads and a number of both silver and copper-alloy coins.
The excavation indicates that the previously unknown burial-ground at Stacumny was quite extensive. The location of a church associated with the burials was not identified in the course of the excavation.
The burials appear to be on three main orientations-east-west, west-south-west/east-north-east and west-north-west/east-south-east-in each of the three main medieval deposits identified on site. Initial interpretation of the burial orientation indicates that there is no stratigraphic significance. A geographic bias does appear to exist, with the greatest percentage of west-south-west/east-north-east burials occurring north of the 'barn' structure. The majority of the west-north-west/east-south-east burials occur to the east of the 'barn' structure. A number of the inhumations had associated medieval pottery. Five of the inhumations had associated post-medieval pottery. The majority of the pottery appears to be of Ham Green type, which would gave approximate dates of 1120–c. 1275 for many of the burials. This would seem to indicate that the graveyard was extensively used over a period of 155 years.
The final excavation extended over an area of approximately 1055m2, and was carried out over fifteen weeks.
Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Fairview, Dublin 3
