2011:152 - BANGOR, Down

The earliest settlement of Bangor began with the foundation of a large monastery in AD 558 by St Comgall, roughly in the location of the present Bangor Abbey Parish Church and graveyard. The importance of this site has previously been noted and prior archaeological investigations have hinted that this was indeed the site of the Early Christian ecclesiastical site founded by St Comgall. Recent excavations to facilitate the redevelopment and extension of the parish hall have revealed new evidence which substantiates the site’s claims to an Early Christian origin.

In 1125 the abbey was rebuilt in stone by St Malachy O’Morgair. Said to be the first building of stone and lime in Ireland, it was burnt in 1127 but was subsequently rebuilt. The extant St Malachy’s Wall was part of a 13th-century building in the environs of the Augustinian abbey. The building is indicated on Thomas Raven’s map of 1625, roofless but intact. The remaining wall is one of only a few visible remains of the early monastic site and is the oldest standing structure in Bangor.

The discovery of two medieval ditches, the latest of which had a 10th–13th-century terminus post quem, is probably the most compelling evidence found on site that this was where the original monastic settlement was established. In addition to this were two linear channels, a stone linear feature, a well, a pit and two post-holes, all of which, on first examination, could be roughly contemporary with the medieval ditches.

The artefacts retrieved in association with these features include medieval pottery dating from the 10th–13th centuries, a metal stylus of medieval date, butchered animal bone, various stone artefacts, including a rotary quernstone, and organic material such as leather and hazelnuts.

The original abbey would have stood within a large circular enclosure which included the site of the present abbey church and probably extended to cover a portion of Cross Hill. A small stream known as Beg or Bec flowed around the lower edge of the early monastic site and then along the line of the present Abbey Street. It seems probable that the two substantial medieval ditches uncovered during the excavation could be related to the early ecclesiastical settlement. The earlier of the two ditches, if projected, could conceivably enclose the site of the current parish church, thought to relate directly to the location of the original stone or wooden church. The later ditch did not appear to be an enclosing ditch but nevertheless could represent an internal division within the ecclesiastical site or a drainage feature running towards the stream to the east.

While most of the medieval features were uncovered to the south of the parish hall closest to the current church building, a wealth of evidence for the past use of the site was also uncovered to the north, next to St Malachy’s Wall, where a significant number of burials were discovered. It was apparent that this had at some stage been a burial ground with some degree of formality, the burials all being interred in the normative Christian tradition, facing east. Some degree of truncation and intercutting occurred with successive burials, as is to be expected of a possible medieval/later medieval burial ground. It was quickly apparent that the construction of the parish hall in the 1950s had made a significant impact on the burials, resulting in the displacement and disarticulation of many of the burials uncovered. At least 60 bags of disarticulated human bone were recovered from these construction deposits. A total of 29 intact or semi-intact burials were uncovered and 25 of these were excavated. Only a small section of this burial ground was exposed through the foundation and drainage trenches and it is likely that the burial ground is much more extensive, with the possibility of many tens or even upwards of 100 burials being located here. From the known distribution of excavated burials, it appears that they were buried within the footprint of the 13th-century building which included St Malachy’s Wall. Since it seems likely that this area would have been used as a burial plot only after the building had gone out of use, it is fair to assume at this stage that they date from the later medieval or early post-medieval period. It is known from Thomas Raven’s map of 1625 that this building was still standing but roofless at this time.

Archaeological Development Services Ltd, 96 University Street, Belfast BT7 1HE