Spain’s remains a mystery

The latest reports on the skeletal remains found buried underneath the former Nancy Spain’s pub suggest they are over 100 years old and are not from the Viking era.

Initially said to be at least 70 years old by gardaí, the human remains were discovered by builders working on the famous pub and venue on Barrack’s Street late last week.

It is understood that the scientific process used to determine the exact age of the remains could take a number of months.

The pub, which has been closed since 2000, lies in close proximity to Elizabeth Fort and a number of other historically significant sites.

The unsettling discovery brought work to a halt at the site where an archaeologist was on hand to carry out an examination.

Gardaí in the city were alerted to the finding. Following the examination, all parties were satisfied that the finding was not a matter for the gardaí and was officially labelled an archaeological find.

It could be a busy time for archaeologists with more finds expected to be found on the site in the coming weeks.

In 2017, a perfectly-preserved Viking sword was found by archaeologists at the site of the former Beamish and Crawford brewery which is less than five minutes’ walk the site of Nancy Spain’s.