A field where two skulls were unearthed in Co Meath this week has now been identified as the site of a 1,500-year-old graveyard.
The remains, which were confirmed by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy as those of two women in their 20s, had been found by workmen digging a trench for a septic tank beside The Snail Box Pub, near Kilmoon Cross, north of Ashbourne.
Experts from Duchas, the heritage service, have examined the site and recovered further remains, including those of new born babies, children aged between three and six, a man in his 20s who suffered from back disease, and a woman in her 40s who had lost all her teeth.
The site is one of the earliest Christian cemeteries and dates from the fifth century, according to Mr Victor Buckley, a senior archaeologist with Duchas. "We have found a number of lintel graves where the shallow grave is cut and the body is given an east-west burial, with the hands in the proper position and the stones laid over the top," he said.
At the time, many women died in child-birth, with child-bearing beginning at 13, while the average male life span was 20 to 25 years.
"The skeletal material is in excellent condition and we'll be able to look at the diseases people suffered and may have died of, as well as determine their age and gender. We'll compare them with like discoveries in Sligo, Ardfert in Co Kerry, and Cabinteely in Dublin," said Mr Buckley.
The archaeologists are expected to withdraw from the site soon to allow development of the septic tank proceed.