2008:519 - Seapoint, Bearna, Galway

Excavation was carried out in the townland of Seapoint, in Bearna village, Co. Galway, between June and August 2008 (Phase 1), and again in January 2009 (Phase 2) in an existing road adjacent to GA093–020, Bearna graveyard. The development involved the laying of sewerage pipes in the vicinity of the graveyard and also in other locations centred on the village of Bearna. The majority of the scheme was routed along existing roads. In consideration of the proximity to Bearna graveyard and, following the discovery of human remains during testing conducted by Declan Moore of Moore Group in December 2006 (Excavations 2006, No. 839, 06E1151), full archaeological excavation was recommended by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
The graveyard, which is still in use, is bounded by a high granite stone wall which was accessed through a gate and a stone stile. Excavation was conducted in the existing road along the line of the proposed pipeline in front of the graveyard. Eight trenches (Trenches A–H) were excavated into the existing road surface over two phases in order to allow access along the road to the pier located to the south of the site. Phase 2 of the excavation involved excavating the centre of the road following full road closure in January 2009. In all cases the excavations were initiated by a mini-digger machine equipped with a grading bucket. After the removal of tarmacadam and hardcore, all additional excavation was undertaken by hand. In addition, an osteologist was present during all works.
During the course of excavation a total of 30 skeletons, of varying ages and conditions of preservation, were excavated. Several of the skeletons were contained within defined simple grave-cuts, but the majority of the burials had no discernible grave-cuts and in many cases were buried in the spaces between the natural granite boulders that occurred in the trenches.
During the course of the excavation the area furthest north was left unexcavated to allow access to Donnelly’s restaurant and because of the presence of buried cables below the road surface. No archaeological material was discovered in the trenches that were excavated in proximity to this area (Trenches D, F and G). The burials did not extend further north or south than the limit of the graveyard wall and were concentrated in the area outside the present graveyard access gate. The total length of the area excavated measured 35m south to north, 5m wide and the depth ranged between 0.5m to 1m. The burials were concentrated in an area which measured 21m north to south, 5m wide and between 0.5m and 1m deep. The deepest area was outside the graveyard gate; the trenches here were c. 1m deep. The stratigraphy was generally uniform throughout the trenches with the exception that the granite boulders were mainly present in the centre of the site. Below the tarmacadam and road fill was a deposit of dark-blackish-brown peaty clay with moderate small stones. This overlay the natural orange boulder clay. The ground level rose to the north and south, this may have influenced the frequency of burials in the centre where the ground cover was more substantial.
The skeletons were generally in poor condition and had been truncated by modern services that occurred in the east and west of the site along either side of the road. The majority of the burials were orientated east–west, with the exception of a child’s skeleton (Skeleton 13) that was orientated west–east. This skeleton also had a small corroded metal disc or coin found located on the right shoulder, suggesting that it was deliberately placed with the individual at the time of deposition. Some of the burials had no discernible orientation due to the poor preservation of the skeletal remains. The skeletons consisted of a mixture of adults, adolescences and infants, which were generally buried in shallow ground with no evidence of coffins. Two skeletons had stone settings in the form of earmuffs on either side of the cranium. No other archaeological features or deposits were excavated other than the skeletons and their associated grave fills and grave-cuts.