Update on Rogerstown visit on Friday 24th June 2011
June 27th, 2011 Posted in General | No Comments »
I visited the Rogerstown site last Friday and was given a full report on-site by Sean Meagher of Eirgrid. The information I received is as follows:
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As per the An Bord Pleanála planning condition, there is a full time project Archaeologist present during the works on the Interconnector.
The previously unrecorded burial ground was uncovered following localised subsidence at the edge of the trench when back filling the installed ducting was being finalised.
In adherence with the archaeology Licence obtained by EirGrid, the Project archaeologist immediately notified National Monuments Services and National Museum. At present, only bone fragments have been uncovered. An Osteoarchaeologist has assessed the bone fragments and has confirmed that they are human.
Fingal County Council’s Heritage Officer has been fully informed of the find and has visited the site.
The Project Archaeologist is submitting a method statement to National Monuments service and the National Museum. The most likely outcome will be that they will issue a new licence to excavate the remains. The existing licence is a monitoring licence only. On receiving this licence, a full assessment of the discovery will be carried out.
It is not possible to know from the initial assessment what era the burial ground dates from without carrying out Carbon dating of the Bone fragments found. This will be done once the appropriate licences are in place.
Initial discovery indicated that remains may have been buried east to west which could mean ancient Christian graves but it is too early to speculate on whether it is a Viking or Christian burial site.
The discovery is not expected to delay delivery of the Interconnector as works in that area have been completed.
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I was glad of the opportunity to visit the Rogerstown site. This is a great discovery for the town. Regardless of whether it is a Viking or Christian burial site, it will no doubt tell us a great deal more about the people who lived in the area at the time. I myself am looking forward to the outcome and am happy that Fingal County Council will have a role to play through the Heritage Office.