Additional safeguards have been implemented at a historical location in Ballyfermot, County Dublin, in response to a circulated video on social media displaying an individual tampering with osteo remains. The construction area is situated within the previous precincts of the De La Salle monastery and primary school in Ballyfermot. The alleged transgression became public on Thursday X in a video, which councillor Hazel de Nortúin of People Before Profit characterised as “greatly troubling”.
The Dublin City Council, National Museum of Ireland, and National Monuments Service all shared this sentiment and are strongly condemning the reported incident, which is currently under gardaí scrutiny. According to Councillor de Nortúin, up to 16 skeleton remains are believed to be located at this site, which has been approved for the construction of 839 homes.
The area, pending a review by the council’s archaeological department, is presumed to be “unimpaired”. Work on the considerable construction project, comprising a combination of flats and duplexes, was undertaken by Dwyer Nolan Developments in April 2023 on this 20-acre site.
An archaeological exploration of a grand dual enclosure from as early as 600 AD is in progress, authorised by a Section 26 licence from the National Monuments Service. A National Museum representative clarified that several early medieval burials were found during the early stages of archaeological examination for the strategic housing development.
The burials are generally situated west to east in a small burial mound within a lightly ditched enclosure. Two burials have been uncovered with a north-south orientation. This uncharacteristic orientation of two burials could signify Hiberno-Norse habitation in the region. However, until the conclusion of the excavation and all respective analyses, this assumption cannot be definitively confirmed. The spokesperson also informed that the ongoing excavations prevent any conclusions about additional burials at this stage.
Archeologists have coined the phrase “Hiberno-Norse” to characterise the way of life of Viking settlement dwellers during the 11th and the onset of the 12th centuries. During the waning stages of the 10th century, Vikings in Ireland had embraced Christianity, and as a result of cultural blending, it was tough to tell Viking from Irish artefacts of this era, per the National Museum’s information.
Currently, the Gardaí are in cooperation with Dublin City Council as well as other relevant bodies, given their consciousness of a video circulating that suggests probable tampering of an ancient burial site.
The council expressed concerns about the video capturing human remains and pleaded with the public not to disseminate it on digital platforms. Discussions are ongoing with onsite archaeologists and An Garda Síochána.