Burgage More
Principal Investigators
Aidan O’Sullivan, and
Funding
Abstract
Burgage More lies to the south of Blessington, Co. Wicklow, on the shores of the Poulaphouca Reservoir. As part of the reservoir works in 1939 burials and other varied materials were removed from Burgage More and a new cemetery was created. Burgage today is dominated by a slowly collapsing towerhouse, but other remains include a church, with documentary records of a graveyard, cross bases, enclosures, trackways and artefacts. Burgage appears to have been a wealthy pre-Norman ecclesiastical site, possibly with links to Glendalough. By the 13th Century, a borough was founded, although this appears to have been abandoned by early in the 14th century. The Towerhouse and dated graves suggest some activity on site after the collapse of the borough, although the details of this are not clear. The visible structures often include evidence of the reuse of earlier buildings. Fieldwork this September included geophysical survey and architectural survey in order to characterise the remains on site. We are grateful to ESB for permission to work on the site.
