The past is all around us, and also underneath us. And that's proving to be true at a former well-known music pub in Cork city, where archaeologists have uncovered four skeletal remains which are also proving to be a treasure trove into the history of the site and the city.
The pit where the skeletons have been found on the site of Nancy Spain's, a former pub, is believed to be a mass burial site, and archaeologists now think that those buried there met with violent deaths.
Builders moved into the well-known pub on the south side of the city centre in 2021 to demolish the premises which had been lying vacant for a number of years, but in the process they started turning up bones. The city coroner and state pathologist were able to verify that the remains were historical and subsequent investigations by archaeologists from Cork City Council have started to help put the pieces together in this historical jigsaw.
Archaeologists now think that they have uncovered a mass burial pit - a ditch - and that the remains show that those who were buried there "had evidently met a violent end".
According to radiocarbon dating of bone samples, it's believed the remains date back to the period between 1447 and 1636 AD. Some of those buried there, who most certainly met a violent death, were young adults aged between 18-25.
What's been said?
“The context of the burials and the way they were placed in the burial pit indicates that they were not treated in a respectful manner," said Niamh Daly, an osteo-archaeologist who has examined the remains.
"In fact, it was evident that all four individuals were buried in a manner which suggests that the hands/wrists were bound behind the backs, and it is likely that the feet/ankles were also bound," she added.
“The uncovering of the ditch feature at the Barrack Street site is a highly significant archaeological discovery for the city of Cork. This area formed part of the suburbs of the medieval city and is therefore of important historical and archaeological significance," said city archaeologist Ciara Brett.
Brett added: "The ditch, which is exceptionally large in size, was not known about prior to excavation. There is no record in the historical sources, neither documentary nor cartographic, of the existence of such a substantial feature in this part of the city."
They'll be brining up the bodies and revealing more clues about the past and how the individuals lived and died for a while longer at the former pub.