Home, home on the grange – in this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast we visit the fascinating excavation of a Cistercian grange at Beaubec in the Boyne Valley. We chat with the excavation directors, the landowners, the excavation team and specialists to discover the story of the dig.

I always love a good trench-side chat, so I was delighted to be invited to the very last day of Geraldine and Matthew Stout’s excavation of a Cistercian grange, or farm complex, at Beaubec near Drogheda. The site is highly significant, as it revealed a large stone barn giving us unparalleled insights into the workings of a medieval monastic grange. Being located in the Boyne Valley, the dig also inevitably revealed evidence of much earlier farmers, with Neolithic artefacts and a possible pit-circle.

During this episode I had the opportunity to discuss the excavation with Geraldine and Matthew who told us of the site’s significance, we also had a great chat with the McCullen family who own the land and who have played a key role in the excavation. We discuss their interest in the project, and what it’s like to be a landowner with such a significant monument on your land. We also chatted to the brilliant excavation team and specialists and John Sunderland the artist in residence.

I’m so grateful to Geraldine and Matthew, the excavation team and all the contributors, and most especially Grace and John McCullen for their warm hospitality and welcome. As it was the last day of the dig it was all go, so please do forgive any little audio wobbles!

Excavations at Beaubec – Key Discussion Points and Contributors

• Geraldine Stout: project overview, aims, objectives and what was found – 01 min 18 secs
• Matthew Stout: the historical background, how the Cistercians came to farm at Beaubec – 2 min 45 secs
• Geraldine and Matthew: how did the Cistercians of Beaubec get on with those of Mellifont and Bective – 5 min 35 secs
• Geraldine and Matthew: the role of the De Lacy family in the foundations – 7 min 15 secs
• Geraldine and Matthew: how did Beaubec operate, how did the Cistercians manage the land? – 8 min 25 secs
• Geraldine and Matthew: the origins of this project – 12 min 47 secs
• Geraldine and Matthew: the importance of Beaubec – 14 min 25 secs
• Geraldine and Matthew: the discoveries, the barn, medieval discoveries, a prehistoric tomb and late Neolithic pit circle and more! – 15 min 39 secs
• Geraldine and Matthew: the future for the project – 16 min 30 secs
• Aidan Giblin, Mick Mongey and Anthony Neville of Resurrecting Monuments: on their experiences in archaeology and the Beaubec dig – 17 min 30 secs
• Bea McCullen: the youngest member of the team tells us of her experience on the excavation – 25 min 34 secs
• John McCullen: the landowner of Beaubec tells us of his interest in the site and its history – 28 mins
• John McCullen: what’s it like to have an important monument on your land, a blessing or a nuisance? – 29 mins 54 secs
• John McCullen: what would John like to see for the future of the site – 33 mins 17 secs
• John Sunderland: the artist in residence at Beaubec and the blend of heritage and art – 35 mins 49 secs
• Michala Nagyova, Bronagh James, Catherine Meehan and Molly O’Connell: on their experiences in archaeology and the Beaubec dig – 42 mins 24 secs
• Daniel Cummins and Elizabeth Gardner: on their experiences in archaeology and the Beaubec dig, and Elizabeth tells us about her engineering background – 45 mins 16 secs
• Anthony Murphy of Mythical Ireland: on drone photography and aerial discoveries in the Boyne Valley – 49 mins 47 secs
• Craig Downie: on excavating the service tower and latrine – 54 mins 40 secs
• Penny Johnston: environmental archaeology and what it can tell us about life in Beaubec – 57 mins 26 secs
• Caitríona Devane: the artefactual assemblage – 1 hour 3 mins 30 secs
• Roseanne Meehan: the pottery assemblage and what it can tell us about life at Beaubec  – 1 hour 05 mins
• Grace McCullen: growing up at Beaubec, the experience of the excavation on the family land and the future for Beaubec – 1 hour 08 mins 25 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• You can discover more about the excavation on their fantastic website here.
• An article on the dig ‘Excavations in the  time of Coronavirus’ also featured in the Winter 2020 edition of Archaeology Ireland Magazine.
• And a detailed account ‘Excavations at Beaubec, Beymore, Co.Meath (2019-20) – a preliminary report.’ by Geraldine Stout and Matthew Stout featured in Riocht na Midhe, Vol XXXII 2021.
• You can see a lovely timelapse video of aerial images showing the progress of the excavation on Anthony Murphy’s YouTube channel here.
• You can find more information on John Sunderland’s Touching Time art project on the excavation blog.
• If you’re interested in digging deeper into the stories of Ireland with online courses and lots of resources, and if you like exploring fantastic archaeology sites then you might enjoy our new Membership Service, Tuatha.