1997:585 - GLEBE, Westmeath

Trial-trenching was carried out to the west of the existing Church of Ireland church and graveyard to ascertain whether or not the graveyard could be extended.

Three trenches were dug, running east–west and parallel to the southern wall of the 1950s extension to the graveyard.

Evidence for a number of phases of activity was revealed. The earliest appears to have been a cut for a ditch or pit in Trench A, followed by a number of inhumations, seemingly in simple unlined graves, extensively disturbed by at least two sets of furrows. A scraper and some worked flakes indicate prehistoric activity in the area.

Trench A, excavated to the full length of the site, was 18.5m in length, ran east–west parallel to the southern wall of the existing extension to the graveyard, and was excavated to subsoil, at a depth on average of 0.6m to 0.7m. In the eastern end some animal bone and charcoal flecks were noted, and the presence of more than one furrow system was observed (the surviving top of the cut for the lowest system was 0.6m below present ground level). The long axis of the furrows appears to be aligned roughly north–south.

At the western end furrows were seen clearly to overlie an earlier cut feature which may have been a truncated ditch or pit and showed itself as a sharp cut into subsoil running north–south, with a possible cut opposite, 1.7m to the east. The fill of the feature only survived on the west side. The cut on the northern side was truncated by the furrows but the gently sloping subsoil here showed that this was the limit of the feature. The eastern side of the feature had been disturbed by the furrows, and its southern extent lay beyond the limits of the trench. On the face of the almost-vertical cut on the west side was a deposit of blackened organic material, with flecks of orange clay. This gave the impression of burnt material, but could equally have been caused by the waterlogging of organic matter in a ditch or depression. No finds were associated with it.

Trench B, 17.3m in length, was excavated to an average depth of between 0.6m and 0.7m. It revealed a number of features. Approximately 6m from the eastern end of the trench a deposit of human bone was uncovered at a depth of approximately 0.4–0.5m, and extended to a depth of over 0.6m, directly overlying subsoil. The bone was extremely fragmented (with breaks resulting from both earlier activities and the weight of the mechanical excavator). The deposit was situated in the disturbed subsoil, a friable clay mixture. This particular deposit of human bone pre-dates and had been disturbed by the same series of cultivation furrows which were revealed in section in both the north and south baulks.

At the western end of the trench the bottoms of the cuts of another two cultivation furrows were exposed. Between these furrows there was an intervening ridge or bank topped and/or revetted by a deposit of stones, varying in size from approximately 0.08m to 0.3m. A burning episode on top of this bank was revealed both in section and plan. The clay from which the bank was formed had been altered from a brown-grey to a rich orange-red. Also revealed in section was a later furrow or cut feature which truncated the burnt area. The section of the westernmost furrow, as exposed in the northern baulk, revealed evidence of a later recut in the form of a distinct crescent-shaped arc of clay.

In order to further determine the nature and extent of the burnt area and the later furrow which truncated it, an area 4m by 2.6m and 0.2m deep was opened to the south of the features. This cutting revealed both the extent of the burning—an irregular oval 0.6m by 0.6m—and the line of the furrow/cut feature. This furrow/cut feature ran parallel to the stone-topped/revetted bank and appears to represent either a later recut of the furrow to the east of the bank or some form of ditch. Both the stone-topped bank and furrow/cut feature are aligned north–south.

Finds from Trench B and its southern extension include a flint thumbnail scraper, a fragment of struck flint, a number of struck chert pieces and two sherds of glazed medieval pottery.

Trench C, 9m in length, was excavated to an average depth of between 0.5m and 0.8m. This trench also revealed a number of features. Approximately 2.3m from its eastern end a deposit of human bone was uncovered at a depth of approximately 0.4–0.5m. The bone, like that found to the north in Trench B, was extremely fragmented. The deposit was situated in the disturbed subsoil, a friable clay mixture.

Further westwards, at a distance of between 6m and 6.5m from the eastern baulk, two more deposits of human bone were recovered. The westernmost deposit included skull fragments, ribs and long bones. The second deposit revealed in section included a tibia, fibia, patella and femur, and represents a leg of an inhumation aligned roughly east–west.

Human bone fragments were visible in section along both the north and south baulks of the cutting. They were situated at an average depth of approximately 0.4m. Both the eastern and western bone deposits pre-date and had been disturbed by some cultivation furrows.

An area 3m by 2.4m and on average 0.2m deep was opened to the south of the trench. This extension revealed two further bone deposits, one to the north and another to the south. The northern deposit consisted of a portion of a humerus, two ribs and what appear to be fragments of shoulder bones. The southern deposit, also partly exposed in situ, appears to be crushed skull. It is clear from the breakages and the disarticulation of these deposits that they have been considerably disturbed at some stage in the past when the field was being cultivated.

Some fragments of clay pipe were also found and may be associated with the cultivation episode.

Owing to the extent of the archaeological deposits it was decided to relocate the graveyard and further work was therefore not necessary.

Greenanstown, Stamullen, Co. Meath