Archaeologists have discovered the bones of up to 100 people during a dig close to the site of a medieval abbey razed to the ground in the early years of the 17th century.
The dig, on the site of a planned development off the Belfast Road in Carrickfergus, began after the discovery of a potentially significant find as pipes were being laid for the project.
Bones of mainly males but some women and children were discovered in the more than four-month dig that ended on Friday, those working on the site said.
The dig, near the old Courtaulds factory, is believed to be close to the site of the Abbey of Holy Cross, also known as Woodburn. It is believed a priory was first built on the site in the 14th century.
After Sir Arthur Chichester was granted control of the land in 1604, along with a vast swathe of the north east, the abbey was destroyed, according to a paper written by the noted antiquarian Francis Joseph Bigger in the Journal of Archaeology. which he edited for a time.
Archaeologists leading the dig on behalf of the developer have been working on the site since October, with the painstaking job ending on Friday.
The private firm was unable to immediately reveal details of what was discovered as it needed the permission of the developer. It is known the archaeologists wanted to be discreet about the bones as some people may have attempted to access the site.
But a local contractor who supplied fencing has detailed on social media what he learned from talking to those working on the site.
The contractor said approximately 100 graves were discovered, mainly men described as small in height but also some women and children. A few have been placed in the ground feet first and hunched over, he added.
”It is from a monastery from the 14th century medieval grave yard,” the contractor said. It is understood there are plans for housing close to the site and a new Home Bargains stand alone store.
In his 1907 paper, Bigger, one of the leading antiquarians of his day wrote that the “founder of this priory is not positively known, but it is believed to have been some of the Bissets, a family who fled from Scotland about A.D. 1242, for the murder of Patrick, earl of Athol”. He added that the priory was likely founded some time early in the following century.
The priory was destroyed after Chichester took control, with Bigger commenting: “What a pulling down of walls and rooting up of foundations, what a havoc-making of roofs and windows, altars and tombs, must such a ravisher as Chichester have been engaged in before the ground was cleared.”
He added: “”Of Woodburn, nothing now remains, even to mark the site. It is stated that the houses in the Irish quarter were built with the stones from its ruins.”