Ancient remains unearthed in storm
AN ancient skeleton has been uncovered at Forlorn Point on the south Wexford coastline as a result of Storm Ophelia which lashed the county last week.
Gardai said the remains, a skull, vertebrae and pelvis, which were tucked into an exposed bank, were found by a walker late on Tuesday afternoon.
The gravesite was cordoned off by the gardai and later examinated by State Pathologist Marie Cassidy, who found that they were ancient in origin, more than 1,000 years old.
‘At this stage it looks like the remains could date from the Iron Age or the early Medieval period,’ said Inspector Denis Whelan.
‘The remains were exposed following the disturbance of the ground by the hurricane. It could have been an ancient burial mound.’
The remains were examined in situ and removed and taken to the National Museum of Ireland, where they will be further examined.
Maeve Sikora, the keeper of Irish Antiquities at the Museum, who travelled to Forlorn Point to examine the skeleton, said the remains were ‘formally buried in a grave’ and not washed in from one of the many shipwrecks off Forlorn Point, known locally as the graveyard of a thousand ships.
She said it was difficult so far to date the remains of the fully grown adult as there were no artefacts found with them.
‘The we don’t have a complete skeleton and the remains were in very bad condition, but you can tell by the way it was placed that this was a formal burial,’ she told this newspaper,.
Tests on the skeleton due to be carried out over the coming months would provide a clearer idea of how long it had been in the ground.
‘Weather events like these have consequences for archeaology. It’s a very interesting spot for a burial,’ said Ms Sikori.
Cllr Jim Moore said the remote area where the remains were found raised the question whether there are more burial sites in the area.