2025:119 - Merlin Park, Galway, Galway

In July 2024 the author was commissioned to complete an archaeological excavation of human remains encountered at Merlin Park, Galway City.  The burial was located at approximately 533655/725657 at a depth of 500mm below modern ground level. The author and an assistant excavated the inhumation by hand on 2 and 3 July 2024 under licence 24E0770. A further 5 east-west aligned grave cuts and an extended area of fill (which may represent further burial cuts) were observed in an extended area which was stripped of topsoil and sod. These burial cuts were not excavated or disturbed and were retained in situ after the works were complete.

A subsequent report prepared by the applicant recommended that a programme of geophysical survey followed by a programme of general and targeted archaeological testing of an extended area around the subject site be carried out well in advance of construction to establish with more certainty the extent of the burial ground.

Aside from the modern visible surface features, the geophysical survey also identified multiple clear linear features and linear trends, which primarily relate to modern drainage and/or service trenches. While some of these coincide with areas of visible modern surface disturbance and/or appear to be the former locations of trees or shrubs, some of these anomalies are not associated with any visible surface activity and were interpreted as representing potential archaeology in the form of possible pit-type features or deposits.

On 11 February 2025 the author exposed a wider area under licence 24E0770 extension in order establish the extent of the possible graveyard.

Three additional grave cuts were identified in test trench 1 (the north-south aligned trench closest to the original excavation area). The grave cuts were located to the northwest of the original excavation area indicating that the possible graveyard extends further to the north and that a subsurface collapsed wall observed during the previous phase of excavations may not in fact represent a boundary.  The additional grave cuts and fills were recorded and assigned the numbers F8, F9 and F10, and a pre-excavation plan of the additional features was drawn at a scale of 1:10, using a 1m planning grid. All features were photographed and drawn. Each feature/inhumation was recorded three dimensionally using a combination of scale drawings and surveying equipment

The topsoil and sod consisted of a dark brown, silty clay with moderate inclusions of small stones and loose bone which typically extended to a depth of 250-270mm. It was agreed that excavation work in the wider area would cease upon identification of additional burial cuts at the level of the cuts so that additional burials could be preserved in situ without causing damage. A further 3 potential burial cuts/burials (F8, F9 and F10) were identified to the north of the original excavation area. The numbering sequence reflects the earlier excavation for continuity and consistency. The burial cuts were exposed and recorded and subsequently preserved in situ and covered by a protective layer of sand and geotextile.