Bishop welcomes move to return excavated remains

Human remains removed from the Scaruppa burial site near Enfield during roadworks there, and in the possession of the National Museum of Ireland, will be returned for reinterment, a museum spokesman has said. The announcement has been welcomed by the Bishop of Meath, Dr Michael Smith, who has been campaigning for the return of the human remains, some of which date from 1,600 years ago. The bishop and the local parish priest agreed to reinter the remains on consecrated ground if they were returned. A team of archaeologists excavating on the site six years ago, on what was to become part of the M4 motorway, uncovered the remains of 461 bodies dating from the fourth century up to the early 1960s. The site included a 'cillin", a burial site for stillborn and unbaptised babies. Although the main graveyard was abandoned in the 1600s, infants were buried there up until 1920. The archaeologists uncovered 61 'neonates" at the site, including two double burials containing premature individuals of late foetal stage who died before reaching full-term. The NRA has been carrying out extensive excavations as part of roadworks throughout the State and human remains are normally handed over to the National Museum following forensic examination. The museum has argued that while current technology has extracted all useful knowledge from the bodies, it considers that it is worthwhile holding onto them in the event that future technologies might produce more information from them. During a debate on the issue on 'Today with Pat Kenny" on RTE radio, National Museum director Dr Pat Wallace said he would be 'pleased' to return some of the remains to Meath once he received a report in the New Year. He said that the remains had been examined carefully and added: 'We"re not talking about bodies here, we are talking about skeletons.' He confirmed that all remains from the cillin would be returned and said that this was not a reversal of current policy. Dr Wallace said the museum had a good policy on such matters which were outlined on its website. 'The good guys are in the National Museum and have been in terms of the whole custody and protection of our national heritage. We do have to retain some bones. There"s no question of re-interring everything willy-nilly. It"s a very serious business,' he said. Bishop Smith said on the same programme that he would be delighted to receive the remains for reburial. On its website, the National Museum states that it includes human remains among the collections it holds on behalf of the State. The collections are held by separate departments of the museum. It states that it endeavours to provide the best possible standards of care for the human remains in its collections. 'The National Museum of Ireland is committed to treating all human remains in the museums collections with respect and with due regard for their dignity as human beings. The museum will not knowingly collect or display the remains of identified individuals, nor will the museum collect or display remains in instances where less than 100 years is known to have elapsed since the time of death,' it adds.