2008:508 - Glebe National School, Aughrim, Galway

Excavations were carried out within a development site in the townland of Foats or Levally near Aughrim, Co. Galway. The development consisted of an extension to Glebe National School, which is located on the west side of Aughrim village. The development was subject to two previous phases of testing carried out in January and May 2007. A strategy was agreed with Hugh Carey, planning archaeologist for Galway with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and the school’s Board of Management to excavate all human remains and stratigraphic layers that were to be impacted upon by proposed development at the site.
The two phases of testing combined with subsequent excavations were considered to be successful in identifying the full extent of the burials within the footprint of the proposed development. All human remains that would be impacted by the development were excavated. A total of 48 individuals and their associated contexts were excavated. Initial on-site interpretation combined with detailed osteoarchaeological examination indicated that the excavated remains represented male and female, children, adolescent and mature adult burials. With the exception of a foetus which died in utero at c. 7 months, there were no identified infant burials, indicating that such cases are likely to have been buried either in a separate burial-ground or within a different area of the cemetery under investigation. The excavated population was generally robust and in good health; there were few signs of disease, trauma, or fractures, though much of the assemblage had arthritis in varying stages and fair to poor dental health. Collectively they showed a vigorous group that engaged in much physical activity, typical of medieval village life.
Although no direct evidence for dating was uncovered, the remains are most likely to date to the medieval period and potentially represent secular burials associated with the Augustinian Abbey in Aughrim. These remains were not considered to relate to the Battle of Aughrim due to their clear spatial association with the abbey site GA087–067, the failure to retrieve any artefactual material which may relate to a 17th-century military campaign, the gender and age diversity identified within the population and the lack of any historical records or documentation relating to a battlefield cemetery at this location. There had been intense media speculation regarding this point.
There were no further impacts on archaeological remains during construction.