MULTIPLE HUMAN REMAINS have been found under the pavement outside Trinity College Dublin.
Skeletal remains were first found in mid-July, during construction work for the Luas Cross City project, outside Trinity’s front gate.
The area was sealed off for archaeological specialists to examine the remains.
At first, it was thought that one skeleton was under the pavement, but today it was announced by Rubicon Heritage, which undertook the works, that multiple remains were lying beneath the busy city-centre street.
The remains were found 1.5m below the present surface of the street, and were below the known level of post-medieval activity.
This suggests they are most likely medieval or earlier in date, said Rubicon.
(Warning – a photo of a skeleton is at the bottom of this article)
At least four individuals found – one under 18
In all, the remains of at least four individuals were discovered in the trench, which Rubicon says suggests that this part of College Green was a cemetery at some point in Dublin’s past.
Rubicon Heritage site director Nikolah Gilligan, who led the excavation, said:
All bar one of the individuals were positioned in north-south orientated grave cuts, apparently with no grave goods present.
Gilligan said that it is too early to confirm the date of the human remains:
though the possibility that they are Viking cannot be discounted, given previously recorded Viking activity in the area.
One of the adults was male, and one of the others was under 18 when they died.
What happens next?
The Railway Procurement Agency’s project archeologists will oversee environmental and osteoarchaeological analysis of the remains that will be undertaken by Rubicon.
“This will reveal significantly more information about the lives and deaths of these individuals and the city in which they lived,” said Rubicon.
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