2007:1479 - Boyle Abbey, Boyle, Roscommon

As part of the ongoing conservation works at Boyle Abbey, Boyle, Co. Roscommon, some limited investigative excavation was undertaken from 29 January to 17 February 2007. A number of areas within the abbey were excavated to facilitate the erection of temporary props along the north side of the north wall and also to establish the original floor level, if present, within the church itself. Two small test-pits were also excavated at either side of the newly uncovered north aisle wall at the base of the trench excavated during 2006 (Excavations 2006, No. 1710). This was to confirm the presence of natural undisturbed subsoil.
Two areas were excavated into the northern baulk of the trench excavated in 2006. The pits were hand-excavated to facilitate the construction of temporary props for the standing north wall of the abbey. The pits measured 1.5m by 1.5m and were excavated to a maximum depth of 1m below present ground level. The layers encountered represented mainly modern and post-medieval layers or deposits, also encountered during the excavations in 2006. No burials or features of significance were encountered in either pit.
Two test-pits were also excavated at the base of the open trench excavated in 2006. A pit was excavated at either side of the newly uncovered north aisle wall. A sterile blue clay was encountered at a depth of 1.8–2m below present ground level in the pits and it is likely that this represents natural subsoil.
Two test-pits were excavated within the church in order to determine the level of the original floor, if possible. Trench 1 was excavated on the southern side of the nave and south aisle inside the west door and adjacent to a pillar. The layers excavated within Trench 1 are modern in date and removal of the latter exposed the probable floor level of the church at a depth of c. 0.27m below present ground level. The foundation of the pillar was also exposed. Trench 2 was excavated at the junction between the chancel, nave and south transept at the eastern end of the church. The upper fills of the trench were similar in nature and thickness to those excavated in Trench 1 and represented modern gravel and a sandy silt deposit with modern finds such as crockery and glass. A large number of disarticulated human bones were recovered from all layers. As in Trench 1 no formal evidence of a floor was encountered. A linear arrangement of substantial flat stones was uncovered in two areas within the trench, one dividing the nave and chancel (i.e. under the chancel arch), the other dividing the south transept from the chancel. It is likely that the original floor was above the level of these stones as they are roughly placed, mortar-bonded and not dressed. It is unlikely that these features were on view during the use of the church.