2020:318 - Abbeyquarter North, Sligo, Sligo

Excavation of a trial trench was undertaken by Fadó Archaeology on behalf of the Office of Public Works, to locate and expose the foundations of a stone wall at Sligo Dominican Friary (Sligo Abbey). The works will provide an opportunity to establish the most appropriate method for stabilization and rebuilding of the collapsed and structurally unsound north-west graveyard boundary wall. The site investigation works (which included geotechnical coring) were located within the curtilage of National Monument No. 189 (RMP SL014-065008 - Religious house - Dominican friars & SL014-065046 - Graveyard). The site is also within the zone of archaeological notification for RMP SL014-065, Historic Town. The Department of Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht requested that a suitably qualified archaeologist be engaged to conduct archaeological monitoring of any ground works and to hand excavate all subsurface works resulting from the purposed site investigation works. Ministerial Consent was sought by the author for hand excavation of one trial trench adjacent to the wall within the north-west precinct of the friary and within the associated graveyard.
Excavation was undertaken between 16 November and 9 December 2020. The trial trench was located adjacent to the boundary wall and within the existing graveyard. The trench measured 3.4m in length (north-east/south-west) by 3m width and 1m deep. Archaeological material in the form of human skeletal remains was uncovered including extensive inclusions of disarticulated bone and several in situ burials, of which two were fully excavated.
The development of Corkran’s Mall (John F Kennedy Parade) in the late 18th century is likely to have caused disturbance to the north of the Abbey. The Abbey was routinely robbed of stone for the construction of this river promenade by Thomas Corkran (Gallagher 2008, 84). The boundary wall to the north-west was built in 1725 in an attempt by the landowner, Lord Palmerston, to protect the ruins from quarrying. Prior to this the area around the Abbey was largely open ground extending towards the Garavogue River. Further enclosing of the Abbey occurred when a low wall was built by Lord Palmerston around it towards the close of the 18th century (ibid., 84). The north-west graveyard boundary wall does not appear to relate to the monastic buildings, as it cuts through the precinct of the Abbey. The wall has had many alterations throughout the years and has varying conditions of repair from the neighboring properties.
The burials encountered during the excavation were all orientated east to west, corresponding with Christian burial practices. The head of each burial encountered was positioned east at the boundary wall, with many directly abutting the wall, whilst the body extended eastwards into the graveyard. This would imply that the wall was in existence at the time of burial and as such the burials encountered in the trial trench post-date 1725 when the wall was reputedly built by Lord Palmerston.
The stratigraphy in the trench exposed a redeposited fill comprising rubble building material of brick and mortar overlying a clinker fill, which in turn overlay the main fill of trench in which the burials occurred. Artefacts of 19th-century date were regularly encountered randomly throughout all the deposits within the trench.
A considerable amount disarticulated human bone in varying degrees of preservation was encountered throughout each of the fills within the trench. Some clusters of bone were encountered, these appear to be the remnants of burials that were disturbed during the cutting of graves for later burials. On occasion these clusters appear to be deliberately gathered and deposited in bundles. Two well-preserved adult craniums of SK3 & SK4 were found together and the position suggests they may have been placed in a cloth bag, which had since rotted away. A religious medal of the Confraternities of the Sacred Heart (est. 1873) was found in proximity to these two craniums; it is possible that the medal may have been placed there following the burial of a coffined adult burial adult (SK5) during which the two adult craniums were carefully placed to the side of this later burial.
In total two full burials were excavated, adult SK5 & juvenile SK7. SK5, a supine adult burial, had traces of a coffin - fragments of the wooden sides, frequent rusted nails, and two metal handles located near each hand. Numerous fragmentary pieces of corroded metal were found over the chest area perhaps indicating the remnants of a name plate for the coffin lid. No coffin existed for SK7, which comprised a well-preserved supine juvenile skeleton, located directly below coffined burial SK5. A further coffined burial (SK8) was encountered along the north-eastern baulk, this was left in situ and appeared to be an adult burial in a metal-lined coffin. This burial appears to have disturbed SK9 which comprised an adult cranium, which was situated between to head of the coffin for SK8 and the graveyard boundary wall.
The density of burials in this area of the graveyard was clear during the excavation of the trial trench. Numerous burials were encountered during the excavation of an additional slot trench to locate the wall foundations, suggesting at least 3 to 4 layers or phases of burials. From contemporary accounts of burial at the Abbey there was a lack of space for burials, particularly during the Cholera epidemic of 1832. The skeletal remains concur with these accounts and indicate the graveyard was densely used over a long period of time.
Post-excavation analysis is ongoing and analysis of the skeletal remains will inform our knowledge of burial in 19th-century Sligo and provide information on the lifestyle, age profile, diseases, and death of these individuals.

Reference:
Gallagher, F., 2008. The Streets of Sligo, Urban Evolution over the course of seven centuries. Fiona Gallagher, Burton Street, Sligo.

Cooldrumman Upper, Carney, Co. Sligo