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Recent excavations by Gahan and Long Archaeological Services in advance of the construction of a new retail store in Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, have unearthed a previously unknown medieval cemetery.
As work began on the site in December of last year, grave cuts were quickly revealed and, over the course of a ten-week excavation, a total of 146 skeletons were uncovered, 120 of which were complete. Found close to where Woodburn Abbey is thought to have been located, the cemetery may have been used as its main burial ground. The Abbey – also known as the Abbey of Holy Cross – was built for the Premonstratensians in 1326, and continued in use for more than two centuries before it was dissolved in 1542 following the retirement of the abbot to Islandmagee, ten miles to the north. The buildings were subsequently demolished c.1558, but during its heyday the abbey would have been one of the most important ecclesiastical sites in the medieval earldom of Ulster. Until now, however, no physical evidence of its presence had ever been found. This makes this latest discovery especially exciting, as it is hoped that it will provide new details about this long-lost religious site.
While the excavated human remains have yet to be radio-carbon dated, they are believed largely to date to the 14th and 15th centuries. Subsequent osteological analysis will be able to tell us more about the individuals that they represent, but at the moment the majority of burials appear to be men – as would be expected in an abbey cemetery – with some women and children also present. Most were laid in a traditional Christian east–west alignment, but a few were found in a more unusual position, buried north–south and cutting through some of the earlier burials (below). During post-excavation analysis the team hope to explore the possibility that these outlier burials might represent criminals executed at the nearby Gallows Green, and who would have been denied a traditional Christian burial.
Text: Kathryn Krakowka / Image: Gahan and Long Archaeological Services
