The macabre discoveries continue at Cork’s Nancy Spain pub. After the bones of the first body were discovered under the pub floor last week, six more skeletons have now been unearthed… again on the same site. The discovery was made during the demolition of the pub: the workers, who were in the middle of their work, noticed the presence of bones as they progressively demolished the building. What a surprise!
The discovery of these 6 new bodies has brought the Nancy Spain demolition project to a screeching halt. Archaeologists were quickly dispatched to investigate. Although it’s still too early to know the date, it would seem that these bodies are ancient.
For Cork City archaeologist Ciara Bret, things are clear: these bones are older than the building itself (which dates from the 19th century). In her opinion, the bones had been there for at least 100 years before construction.
The remains are fragmentary and predate the current 19th-century building on the site. she declared. As the site is still under archaeological investigation, it is not possible at present to definitively date the remains, but it is likely that they date from the 18th century or earlier.
For the archaeologist, it’s not surprising to discover such bones. Barrack Street, where the Irish pub is located, is one of the city’s most important historic districts. The site is part of the old medieval quarters of Cork city. As a result, the area was already under archaeological surveillance.
This new discovery promises an exciting investigation. The bodies will be studied and taken to the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin… They will be potentially exposed, or buried in an appropriate place.
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