Skeletal remains found during construction at Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Market

Thirteen archaeologists have been excavating the grounds of the Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Market in the north inner-city

At the end of last year, they found what seem to be bones from two skeletons, according to a Dublin City Council spokesperson.

The human remains are thought to be from the medieval period, they said, and probably are somehow linked to nearby St Mary’s Abbey.

St Mary’s Abbey was one of Ireland’s most important monastic sites, founded in the 12th century. 

“Its buildings would have appeared as an equivalent to Christchurch on the northside of the city,” says a report on a recent excavation there.

In 2022, just over the road from the market, archaeologists uncovered a haul of medieval artefacts and the remains of around 250 people, some of whom were buried in specially marked graves. 

On the market site, in 2023, archaeologists carried out test investigations and uncovered medieval artefacts and the remains of a wall which was more modern at the top of it. 

But “As this wall is listed as a possible precinct wall of St Mary’s Abbey and thus a recorded monument, further investigation is required,” said their report. 

The test digs didn’t uncover human remains. But the recent discovery won’t have been a surprise to the report’s authors. 

“While no human bones or burials were found during the site testing, it should be noted that there is a high probability that burials may survive across the site,” says the report. 

Since those remains have now been discovered, more digs are needed, said the council spokesperson. 

It’s not yet clear if this will affect the timeline for the restoration of the market, a landmark project for the council, which in September 2025, the council said was to be a two-year project. 

“Until the extent of the burials is known, an agreed treatment and associated timeline, the impact on the overall project is not known,” they said.

Under the market

On Thursday morning, a blue truck drove into the arched doorway of the  Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Market. 

Two diggers sat parked on the grounds of the market.

The bones were found by the archaeologists on 18 December, said a council spokesperson. 

They were about 2 metres under the ground, leading archaeologists to believe they hail from the medieval period.

As is protocol, the archaeologists informed An Garda Síochána and the Dublin Coroner’s office. They confirmed that the remains were historical, he said.

The archaeologists applied for a licence to poke around more to work out how far the burial site spreads – which was granted on 22 January. 

“Due to the bad weather and delicate nature of the remains and their age, this process is ongoing,” said the council spokesperson.

Green Party Councillor Janet Horner says it's not a huge surprise that there would be discoveries. “Dublin is a very historic city so these kinds of finds are built in.” 

Some time for archaeological work is already included in the published timeline for the refurbishment, which was set to be completed next year, the council spokesperson said. 

Right now, it’s impossible to say if this discovery will delay the project, says Horner, because it depends on the scale and significance of the find.

A couple of skeletons won’t cause a significant delay to the refurbishment. “Obviously, if there is much more found that could create a delay,” she says. 

“It's obviously very historically interesting whatever is found there, and it helps to illuminate the history of the area,” says Horner. 

So she hopes that any interesting discoveries could be used to enhance the new market, she says, possibly through an exhibition or display.

The abbey

It is possible but not yet certain that St Mary’s Abbey – one of Ireland’s largest and most influential medieval monasteries – extended to where the Victorian Fruit and Veg Market now sits.

The medieval artefacts uncovered by archaeologists at a neighbouring site at 26–31 and 33 Arran Street East and 14–20 Mary Street dated from bygone eras that span 800 years from 1100 AD to 1900 AD. 

“The dig uncovered a large assemblage of medieval and post-medieval archaeological deposits and finds related to the monastery and its subsequent dissolution,” says the report for that site. 

Artefacts included lime and tile kilns used in the construction, extension and renovation of the abbey from the 12th to the 16th century, it says. 

“A substantial collection and variety of metal, ceramic, stone, bone, leather, roof slate and glass artefacts were recovered from all levels on the archaeological dig,” it says. 

As were remains of men, women and children, some of whom were buried in high-status elaborate stone-lined graves. “At least 250 human burials were excavated within the church and to the north of the church within the abbey graveyard,” says the report. 

The monastery closed in 1539, amid the dissolution of the monasteries by England’s Henry VIII as he seized assets to fund the crown, and consolidate his political and religious power. 

“The dissolution was so effective that one of Ireland’s greatest monasteries disappeared beneath the city,” says the report.