, described the significance of the finds. He said: 'In its day, St Mary's Abbey was Ireland's largest and most wealthy medieval abbey. 'It was demolished after 1540 when the monastery was disbanded by Henry VIII and was later the site of a 17th century Presbyterian Meeting House.' He added: 'One of the things that was intriguing and exciting about the excavation is that we found a number of early burial sites. Beannchor, the developer, has undertaken similar restoration of h){kind=link}
Hundreds of skeletons have been found in a burial site from the Middle Ages, as excavations for a new hotel site in Dublin unearthed abbey ruins and mass graves
Burial sites dating back over a thousand years have been discovered during excavations for a new hotel in Dublin’s city centre.
Around 100 skeletal remains from the Middle Ages were found in an area around Capel Street where an abbey, St Mary’s, once stood.
After carbon dating the graves, it was discovered that one predates St Mary’s opening in the 12th century by one hundred years.
At least two of the remains are believed to date back to the early 11th century.