The Mahon family, all eight of them, arrived at Bey More today to volunteer their services and began excavating a cutting across the medieval moat. The cutting will forever more be known as the ‘Mahon Cutting’. Thank you guys! Famous Meath archaeologist Kieran Campbell also paid us a welcome visit and identified imported post medieval …
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Day 4 – Chasing yellow
Today we began to dismantle the Pearson Avenue to get down to the much awaited yellow medieval habitation layer that lies below the darker modern deposits. Patches of yellow are appearing in most of the squares . A lintelled drain was carefully followed on its journeythrough the building on its way to the moat. This …
Day 3 – Breaking rocks in the hot sun
The team worked hard all day in the hot sun in search of the medieval levels of Beaubec farm. The Pearson avenue was expertly trowelled by Treasa Kerrigan who generously volunteered her time today. Thank you, Treasa! She uncovered a long section of the medieval farm building wall which had actually been reused to form the road …
Day 2 – Settling in
It’s hard to believe it’s only the second day on site. Everyone has settled into a steady rhythm of digging, shovelling and barrowing. The roadies have done an excellent job erecting all the gazebos which will shelter us and the tools in the changeable conditions that is all part of an Irish summer. Well done! …
Day 1, Season 3 – And we’re back
Over 36 volunteers and a dozen or so visitors to the site were on hand to witness the turning of the first sod. Barney McAdam, who farms the field, is one of the oldest residents in the area and he performed the first-day duties. John McCullen (landowner) and Geraldine Stout (co-director) gave brief addresses and …
John McCullen on the Pearson House
As we get ready for the start of the 2021 season at Beaubec, here is a preview of John McCullen’s article on the Pearson’s of Bey More. John, historian and our affable host, hopes to place this article in the next issue of the Journal of the Old Drogheda Society. The foundations of the Pearson …
Green Light for Season 3!
The third and final season of excavations at Beaubec has just received the go-ahead from our principal funders FBD Trust and the Kilsharvan Community Council. This year’s dig will begin on Monday, 5 July 2021 and continue for four weeks (excepting weekends), concluding on Friday 30 July 2021. We dig from 9 to 5. The …
Dating discovery in Irish Independent
Louise Walsh, Drogheda journalist and mother of excavation stalwart Comhall Ferriter, published a piece on our Late Neolithic date in the Irish Independent of 30 March 2021. We thank Louise for her continuing interest in our excavation. https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/news/bru-na-boinne-links-to-site-where-medieval-monks-made-bread-40254629.html
Late Neolithic Pit Circle, It’s official!
Readers of this blog will know that the Beaubec Excavations team were recently awarded a Radio Carbon date from the RIA/QUB (see 4 December 2020). The result is just in, the envelope please: the pit circle dates to 2456–2208BC! We can now confirm that there is a Late Neolithic horizon at Beaubec uniting this part …
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Creedon’s Atlas of Ireland Comes to Beaubec
John Creedon came to Beaubec last July and the programme RTÉ made that day aired on Sunday, 14 March 2021 at 6:30 PM. You can now see it on the RTE player. The entire series is well worth a watch, but the segment on Beaubec is in the second episode at 9:00 minutes, enjoy! https://www.rte.ie/player/series/creedon-s-atlas-of-ireland/SI0000005960?epguid=IH000402197 …
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Beaubec Excavations 