2012:636 - St Mary’s Graveyard, St Mary’s Lane, Wexford, Wexford

The client, Wexford Borough Council, is undertaking a repair programme to the boundary wall of St Mary’s Graveyard, Wexford. St Mary’s medieval graveyard and Church are designated (WX037-032033 and WX037-032011 respectively). In advance of this, three hand-excavated 1.3m by 1.6m test holes were excavated abutting the boundary wall and on the interior of the graveyard. The purpose of the test holes was to make the interior of the wall accessible, to ascertain its heritage value as well and to assess its structural condition. Ministerial Consent was received as the site constitutes a national monument. The hand excavated ‘upcast’ was metal detected. The licence application also recognised requirement for the availability of an osteo-archaeologist in the event of encountering human remains. The application further recognised subsequent monitoring of ground works associated with foundation excavation for buttress installation on exterior of the graveyard wall.

The excavation was designed as columnar soil excavation to the wall’s internal profile while at the same time providing same in relation to the graveyard’s soil profile. It was anticipated that some burials could be encountered. The test holes were located at angular turns to the wall, where structural degradation were evident (from exterior) as well as to minimise the potential for encountering human remains. Given the nature of previous soil importation to the graveyard, it was considered very probable that at least disturbed and disarticulated human remains would be recovered from previous internments. Archaeological site works commenced on 15 October and concluded 24 October 2012. The works were subject to time constraints due to notification of project, Ministerial Consent Application period and termination date of project (including reporting) required by the funding agent, the Heritage Council.

Depths were designed up to c. 2.2m and consistent with basal element to the wall. Test holes were excavated by hand, given the sensitive nature of the site. From the exterior it was discernible that the wall had been built over five distinct periods of indeterminate date. Assessment of its matrix, thickness, etc. would enable a more conclusive chronological profile to its construction and extension.

Modern 20^th-century dump material was encountered in the sod layer. Mixed 19^th- and 20^th-century material was retrieved from the uppermost 1.2m of test holes. The underlying 1m depth of the test hole, while retaining 19^th-century material, also had medieval and/or post-medieval finds. However, its mix with 19^th-century material showed significant disturbance and no definitively dateable periods of soil importation were thus identifiable from these levels. Mixed fragments of animal bone and human skeletal fragments were also retrieved from these deposits. These were associated with re-excavation of the graveyard for subsequent internments and/or unofficial internments inside the graveyard wall, while the animal bone appears to have been dump, possibly from former nearby butchers. The revealed basal surfaces of Test Hole 1 exposed four and possibly a fifth internment. These were cleaned in preparation for assessment by the osteo-archaeologist and Test Holes 3 and 4 were commenced. Upon examination by the osteo-archaeologist, and  discussion, it was identified that the continuing excavation work, i.e. recording and excavation of the burials, would extend the test hole into the graveyard and away from the wall, depart from the scope of the project, namely achieving vertical internal boundary wall profile, extend the duration of the project beyond that permissible by the Heritage Council and thus negate funding availability, impact upon the archaeological licence terms, namely that adequate funding is available to execute the project and it was deemed highly probable that continuing excavation of Test Holes 3 and 4 would encounter the same outcome. Since a very limited amount of bones was disturbed from the burials in the course of the project, the five burials were recorded in situ, protected and covered over, with the test holes back-filled by hand. The Chief Archaeologist was notified of the nature of the works, in particular in relation to the burials, seeking recommendations on further excavation and retrieval works (if any) required concerning the exposed and recorded burials.

Preliminary post-excavation assessment has taken place on the artefacts. These consisted of six square or rectangular iron-stemmed iron nails, three iron tanged knife blades and an iron falconet canon shot, all potentially of medieval or post-medieval date.

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