An ancient Roman burial in Kilkenny? Secrets revealed at city lecture

In 1852, a collection of Roman funerary objects - a glass cremation urn, a bronze mirror, and a phial - was unearthed near Stoneyford, Co. Kilkenny. Now, new research has shed light on the unique discovery and you are invited to listen to the story from one of those involved in the exciting project.

Some scholars have suggested it was faked by the person who reported the discovery in 1852, whilst others have proposed it was a genuine find and represents a classic Roman cremation rite from the late 1st to mid-2nd century AD.

New detailed historical research (undertaken concurrently by speaker Cóilín Ó Drisceoil and Dr Aideen Ireland) supports its authenticity and the identification of its probable findspot to a ring-barrow site in Ballycoam townland, a kilometre from Stonyford.

An upcoming  lecture will present the background to the discovery and the outcome of a new geophysical survey of the Ballycoam site, which adds further intriguing context.

Its broader archaeological setting within a concentration of Roman sites and finds reveal a persistent Roman cultural presence and make Kilkenny a key zone of Roman influence in Ireland.

This challenges longstanding narratives that Ireland remained largely untouched by Roman culture. Instead, the evidence suggests continuous interaction within a frontier of cultural exchange and influence, foreshadowing the transformations that shaped early medieval Ireland.

Cóilín Ó Drisceoil is an archaeologist with the National Monuments Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. He has published on Roman material in Kilkenny, as well as Iron Age, medieval and post-medieval archaeology. His books include (with John Bradley and Michael Potterton), William Marshal and Ireland (Four Courts Press, 2017); (with Aidan Walsh) Materialising Power: The Archaeology of the Black Pig’s Dyke (Wordwell, 2021) and (with Emma Devine) Highhays, Kilkenny: A Medieval Pottery Production Centre in South-East Ireland (Oxbow Books, 2022).

The talk takes place at Rothe House, Parliament Street, on Wednesday, November 26, at 8pm. Entry €8 for members and €10 for non-members.