2007:1429 - MULLANAROCKAN, Monaghan

The site at Mullanarockan, Tydavnet, is located immediately east of, and adjacent to, MO006–022, a church site. There is a burial-ground around the church, and a wall on the eastern side forming the boundary between the monument and the site. The site is an irregular shape, broadly trapezoidal. It measures from c. 30m along its southern boundary to c. 20m along its northern one, and from c. 10m along its western boundary to c. 14m along its eastern one. The developer proposes to erect one building, containing two dwellings, towards the southern end of the site. A right of way from the road to the cemetery will be preserved according to the proposal, to provide access to the cemetery. The developments will not impact on this access. An assessment carried out in 2006 (Excavations 2006, No. 1680) revealed a small amount of human skeletal material. Topsoil-stripping as a controlled archaeological task was required by the Planning Authority.
The topsoil-strip began in the south-west corner of the site. At 2m from the northern wall of the modern house which is located south of the site, and 1m south of the south-east (rounded) corner of the graveyard wall, and 0.4m below present ground level, human remains came to light. The material was in dark-brown silty clay topsoil, which was built up in this area, and sloping eastwards. Initially the human remains consisted of two skulls and one long bone. The skulls were in a vertical position.
Machine work ceased in this area. Cleaning of the vicinity was carried out by hand. While this work was being carried out, four more skulls were revealed, and several more bones. The material was fully excavated. One sherd of early modern blackware was associated with Skulls 1 and 2. The material in which the skulls were deposited also contained glass and plastic. The skeletal material comprised a total of six skulls and a small quantity of other bones. This material was apparently disturbed from the graveyard, possibly during cleaning in the early modern period. It will be subjected to post-excavation osteological study by Laureen Buckley. Beneath the skeletal material there was a tree bole. It was fully excavated, and ended at 0.9m below ground level.
Topsoil-stripping continued along the southern half of the site, moving eastwards. At 2.3m from the west, the remains of an early modern house came to light. The material consisted of stone, mortar, slate, early 20th-century pottery, glass, etc.
The remains of the house covered an L-shaped area, 4m by 2.5m. East of the house remains, the red/brown sterile clay subsoil was revealed at c. 0.6m.
The testing previously carried out at the site revealed an area of black silt with moderate inclusions of charcoal pieces, occasional sandstone, and brick fragments, in Trench 4. The layer contained no artefacts. It was 0.2–0.9m thick, being in general 0.2m thick. This material came to light again during the present topsoil-strip. It may have been the result of domestic combustion, or industrial activity, such as a forge. It was dated by artefactual evidence to the modern period.
The topsoil-strip continued into the north-east corner of the site and the north-west corner. The soil profile was 0.4–0.5m of sod and dark-brown silty clay topsoil over red/brown sterile clay subsoil. No further evidence of soil disturbance in the past was disclosed by the topsoil-strip.