2000:0888 - RELICKORAN, Inishmurray, Sligo

Excavation of the medieval cemetery, a National Monument site, at Relickoran was commissioned by Dúchas The Heritage Service in response to ongoing coastal erosion.

The cemetery consists of two conjoined enclosures. The main enclosure is rectangular, measuring c. 12m north–south by 8m, within broad walls of drystone rubble. It is open to the south, i.e. on the cliff edge, where the site is suffering ongoing erosion, and the wall has been entirely lost. The smaller, adjoining enclosure is 4m east–west by 3m within rubble banks. Again, the south side of this is open to the sea. There are two altars or leachta, one within the main enclosure and one within the adjoining smaller enclosure, and several cross-inscribed slabs. (The cross-slabs have all been removed to a conservation store on the island.) Excavation of the seaward half of the site commenced in August 1999 (Excavations 1999, 276). A further season of work was undertaken in 2000, and an additional area immediately north-east of the enclosures was opened.

The superstructure of the leacht in the main enclosure contained many modern inclusions and had evidently been rebuilt within the last 100 years or so. The structure was gradually reduced to reveal a primary or basal level of erect, edge-set flags with a soil and rubble core. Two small cross-slabs were found adjacent to the structure, one lying within a rubble spread where the monument had partly collapsed on its south side. These are thought to be grave-markers.

The enclosure walls were found to be of broadly two phases. Heaped random rubble concealed a primary build of course rubble brought to an even face. Within the main enclosure a well-laid pavement of rough flags made a circuit of the inner wall face. The wall was breached by two stiles in the eastern sector, one giving access to the field beyond and the other to the smaller, conjoined enclosure. A cross pillar was set within the paving adjacent to the second stile.

Within the smaller, adjoining enclosure the leacht consisted of massive stone blocks, and the remaining part of the structure appeared to be substantially intact (i.e. there was no evidence for rebuilding).

Preliminary excavation in 1999 recovered numerous fragments of human bone from the topsoil. These were not well preserved, however, and no grave-cuts had been positively defined. Thus there seemed little hope that in situ skeletal remains would be found intact by further excavation in 2000. This expectation proved to be largely correct. Numerous shallow grave-cuts were identified, but skeletal remains survived in only a few of these. Superior elements of the skull and mid-shaft long bone fragments predominated amongst the surviving bone. In one or two cases the outlines of a decayed skeleton could be traced, although the bones could not be lifted. In the majority of cases, however, there was no surviving bone of any sort. The surviving remains represent men, women and juveniles/children. Excavation of human remains was supervised on site by osteoarchaeologist Linda Lynch of Aegis Archaeology Ltd.

The graves were clearly of two principal phases. Earlier burials were aligned north-east/south-west, and some of these extended beyond the enclosure wall on the east side of the cemetery. The later burials were more or less of true east–west orientation and appeared to be confined within the cemetery walls on the east side at least (this was less clear on the west where some graves partly underlay the enclosure wall). At least two graves pre-dated the leacht in the smaller enclosure, though it was not evident that the monument had been raised over these graves specifically. In the main enclosure several graves also pre-dated the leacht. There were other graves, however, with edge-set stone surrounds, grouped about it to north and south. These respected both the leacht and pavement (and by association the enclosing wall). Overall, it appears that the cemetery was already long-established when the leachta and enclosing walls were built.

Skeletal remains found beneath the smaller leacht in 1999 were sent to the Scottish Universities Research Reactor Centre (SURRC) with the results given below.

Consent has been sought from the National Museum of Ireland to obtain further radiocarbon dates from skeletal material excavated in 2000.

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