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Ballacregga

Archaeology

The site of an eary medieval keeill or chapel, which would have been in use during the period circa AD500 to AD1000.  Evidence of the chapel and lintel graves within the burial ground have been recorded here. The Ordnance Survey have noted that 'To the immediate E of Ballacregga is the site of an ancient Chapel and Burial Ground, where numbers of stone-lined graves containing human bones have been found.'


The site is shown on the 1:2500 scale Ordannce Survey map of 1870 which shows the burial ground as a raised mound within which the site of the chapel is marked. The Manx Archaeological Survey noted in 1918 that the enclosure was less well defined than at the time of the 1870 Ordnance Survey map.  


The Manx Archaeological Survey's investigation consisted of excavating several trenches across the mound at intervals of just under 6 metres, but these failed to find clear evidence of the chapel, instead finding 'a layer of chips and splinters of stone (which) appeared to mark the actual position of the Keeill, of which all other traces has long since been carried away.'  The survey likewise found 'one or two lintel graves and some white shore pebbles'. 


It is today still possible to make out the enclosure as a combination of earthwork banks and cropmarks although the site is now somewhat overgrown in places.

Connections

Book Chapters

  • Parish: Santon
  • Sheading: Middle
  • Grid Ref: SC3431972160

Sources

  • Isle of Man Heritage Environment Record
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