https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/beaubec-monastery-ireland * Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member. * Trips + Upcoming Trips + All Trips Trips Blog [bmc] Get the Atlas Obscura book Shop Now >> Upcoming Trips View All Trips >> Ingredients for the cooking session with chef Iliana de la Vega Oaxaca: Tastes of Past & Present [blank-11b9] Poetry and Music in the Scottish Lowlands [blank-11b9] From Chocolate to Truffles: Italian Culinary Adventures [blank-11b9] Slovakian Castles and Cold War Relics * Experiences Upcoming Experiences View All Experiences >> [blank-11b9] Members only Into the Bonebed: Explore the Life Cycle of a Fossil at The Mammoth Site [blank-11b9] Members only Atlas Obscura Members Only Trivia Night [blank-11b9] Members only The Secret Arts: Listening to the Cosmos w/ Dr. Wanda Diaz-Merced [blank-11b9] Members only Repairing Reptiles: Exploring Animal Prosthesis and Regeneration [blank-11b9] Members only Monster of the Month w/ Colin Dickey: The Golem * Courses Upcoming Courses View All Courses >> [blank-11b9] Making Scents: Experimental Perfumery With Saskia Wilson-Brown [blank-11b9] Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva [blank-11b9] Most Wanted Art: Unrecovered Art of WWII With the Monuments Men and Women Foundation [blank-11b9] All the Small Things: Crafting a Miniature Abandoned Room With Amanda Kelly [blank-11b9] Playing Ancient Games: History & Mythology With John Bucher * Places + Top Destinations + Latest Places + Most Popular Places + Random Place + Lists + Itineraries + ------------------------------------------------------------- Add a Place ------------------------------------------------------------- + Download the App Latest Places View All Places >> [blank-11b9] Fort William, Scotland Big Red Bottle Boat 56.8230, -5.1078 Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst, England Stonyhurst Hall 53.8470, -2.4720 Air Defense Early Warning Listening Ears Budapest, Hungary Air Defense Early Warning Listening Ears 47.4949, 19.0426 Underground section of the bunker that overlooks the water Port Angeles, Washington Camp Hayden 48.1636, -123.7023 Top Destinations View All Destinations >> Countries + Australia + Canada + China + France + Germany + India + Italy + Japan Cities + Amsterdam + Barcelona + Beijing + Berlin + Boston + Budapest + Chicago + London + Los Angeles + Mexico City + Montreal + Moscow + New Orleans + New York City + Paris + Philadelphia + Rome + San Francisco + Seattle + Stockholm + Tokyo + Toronto + Vienna + Washington, D.C. * Foods Latest Places to Eat & Drink View All Places to Eat >> The end results of the museum's workshop. The Living Obwarzanek Museum (Zywe Muzeum Obwarzanka) A bowl of paitan ramen with chashu. Hrimnir Ramen [blank-11b9] Pineapple Dump Pier [blank-11b9] Bistro Nobel Signed Chairs [blank-11b9] Sally Lunn's * Stories + Recent Stories + All Stories + Puzzles + Video + Podcast Most Recent Stories View All Stories >> Charles Henry Turner was the first scientist to prove certain insects could remember, learn, and feel. How a High School Teacher Changed Early 20th-Century Insect Science [blank-11b9] Podcast: Grace Hopper's Bug All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura Puzzle Monday: Charting a Path Between Day and Night When it opened in 1917, the Hotel Lincoln was a jewel on Casablanca's new Mohammed V Avenue--a French vision of what a modern city should be. Should Casablanca's Iconic Buildings Be Saved? * Sign In Join * Sign In ----------------------------------------------------------------- Join * What's near me? How a Farmer's Hunch Led to a Lost Monastery and a Neolithic Surprise The rediscovered medieval complex of Beaubec is unique in all of Ireland--and it's just the most recent layer of history unearthed in a humble pasture. by Matt McIntosh July 28, 2022 How a Farmer's Hunch Led to a Lost Monastery and a Neolithic Surprise Copy Link Facebook Twitter Reddit Flipboard Pocket A five-acre pasture on the McCullen family farm, dominated by an old stone tower, has turned out to be the site of both a medieval monasterial complex and Neolithic ruins. A five-acre pasture on the McCullen family farm, dominated by an old stone tower, has turned out to be the site of both a medieval monasterial complex and Neolithic ruins. Matt McIntosh In This Story [blank-11b9] Destination Guide Ireland 26 Articles 170 Places John McCullen steps through a gate and into a small, green pasture. Like so many fields north of Dublin, this five-acre section of the McCullen family farm is gently rolling and lush even in late winter. His steps are purposeful, his gestures deliberate and emphasized with a short walking stick as he approaches the centerpiece of the pasture: an old stone tower that looks no more remarkable than the multitude of other ruins scattered around County Meath. McCullen had a feeling there was more to the tower, however. One day, he started to dig. His intuition proved right. The tower was hundreds of years older than thought, and would turn out to be the only remaining building from a lost medieval monastery. Even more surprising: Beneath the tower and other remains of the medieval site are much older structures, which date back millennia. Thanks to McCullen's hunch and persistence, and the efforts of his family, researchers, and volunteers, the true significance of the site has finally been unearthed. For generations, the McCullens had called the tower "the castle," or "the pigeon house," for its resemblance to old dovecotes built to accommodate the birds. They had assumed it was built in the 17th or 18th century, during previous construction at the site and at a time when both dovecotes and follies, or decorative architecture, were in style. McCullen's curiosity about the structure began as a boy 70-plus years ago, thanks to a cryptic warning from his Aunt Mary, one passed down for decades in the farming family: "Don't take any stones from the pigeon house, because it's a monastic place, and woe betide any despoiler!" There was one feature about the tower that suggested it might be older, however. McCullen notes that a single window in the upper part of the structure was of "Norman design," hinting at possible medieval origins. The tower's red sandstone offered another clue. The stone is rare in the area, but was a favorite building material of French masons, particularly in the medieval era. Something else McCullen noticed hinted that the tower might be just one of several buildings in the pasture: During spells of dry weather, patches of grass turned brown in consistent patterns, suggesting that there was something buried beneath them. Archaeologist Matthew Stout rests his foot on a piece of red sandstone, a clue to the site's builders, as he discusses the site with landowner John McCullen, his daughter Grace McCullen, and conservationist Brandon Good.Archaeologist Matthew Stout rests his foot on a piece of red sandstone, a clue to the site's builders, as he discusses the site with landowner John McCullen, his daughter Grace McCullen, and conservationist Brandon Good. Matt McIntosh "We were very curious," McCullen says, prodding a piece of sandstone with his walking stick. "We started doing some work ourselves." In 1997, McCullen began digging with the help of neighbors and members of the local historical society, eventually revealing an 18th-century driveway. Another investigation, in 2016, used ground penetrating radar to detect a large complex of buried foundations. The tantalizing results of that survey secured funding for a bigger dig that began in 2019. Through artifacts and architecture uncovered in the most recent excavation, and comparisons between the site and historical documents, the team was able to confirm the complex had 13th-century origins. In fact, they discovered it was the lost Cistercian monastery of Beaubec, a working farm, or grange, that was mentioned in medieval texts but never located by archaeologists. The medieval site was much larger than even McCullen suspected. It includes a large barn that would have been nearly 200 square meters (more than 2,000 square feet) and remnants of a bread oven, brewing kettles, and a kiln for drying grain. There was also a storage area that archaeologists believe was used to hold goods destined to be exported to France, where the Cistercian order was headquartered. Geraldine and Matthew Stout, the veteran archaeologists managing the Beaubec project, find the site's French connection particularly interesting. "It's unique in Ireland," says Geraldine Stout, noting that the monastery's construction involved a lot of timber, unusual in a region where stone was the preferred building material. "The monks who came from Normandy came from a place with plenty of trees and had different methods," she says. "It's only when we went to the [home monastery] in Normandy that we realized the similarities." "There are 250,000 monuments in the Republic, and maybe two dozen are major tourist attractions." The dig also uncovered flint arrowheads and the remnants of what might be a stone circle or passage tomb similar to the structures, more than 5,000 years old, found at the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site of Newgrange. Grace McCullen, John's daughter, worked as a tour guide at Newgrange and takes particular delight in learning the family farm has its own Neolithic monument. "We used to play around it as kids, you know," she says. While the Newgrange site enjoys a number of protections, many other monuments from Ireland's past--including those not yet discovered--are at risk from urban sprawl, road construction, and other destructive activities. Archaeologists increasingly rely on people such as John McCullen to recognize the significance of what may be sitting in their pastures. "There are 250,000 monuments in the Republic, and maybe two dozen are major tourist attractions. Even though the goodwill is there, we still rely on landowners being on board," Matthew Stout says. The McCullens, the Stouts, and their colleagues at the Archaeological Survey of Ireland see Beaubec as a case study for showing how monuments can be preserved on private rather than state-owned land in a way that works for landowners as well, allowing working farms to continue without disruption. In fact, at Beaubec, the team plans to backfill open excavation trenches in a way that communicates the size and layout of the medieval monastery complex but also allows the McCullens to continue using the pasture for their livestock. While the digging may be done for now, archaeological work will continue with an additional geophysical survey of a wider area around the pasture planned. Geraldine Stout expects to find more remains of the monastery, including its abbey and cemetery. Like John McCullen, whose lifelong curiosity about the pigeon house started the process of discovery, Stout has hunch about the site. "It still has more to yield," she says. Read next Podcast: Plain of Jars Join us for a daily celebration of the world's most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places. [blank-11b9] neolithicfarmingmonasteriesfarmsmedievalarchaeologyhistory Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member. Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member. Using an ad blocker? We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the world's hidden wonders. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. Continue Using Ad-Block Support Us Keep Exploring [blank-11b9] museums Uncovering the Secrets of a Forgotten Viking Town The remnants of Borgund were buried in the dirt for centuries and then sat in museum storage for decades. Sarah Durn May 12, 2022 [blank-11b9] plague A Secret History of Venice Is Written on the Walls of Its Quarantine Stations A look inside the Mediterranean trading power, courtesy of its hard-working 16th-century porters. Federico Formica September 21, 2021 [blank-11b9] ruins Found: The First Anglo-Saxon Building in Bath The discovery, in a city famed for its Roman ruins, may mark the site of England's first coronation. Isaac Schultz February 11, 2020 [blank-11b9] archaeology The Female Archaeologists of the Scottish Orkneys Were Hiding in Plain Sight The women in this century-old photo weren't visitors--they were probably scientists. Jessica Leigh Hester March 27, 2019 [MDEuanBn] Video * PinDrop Step Inside Gaudi's First House in Barcelona 1:24 [cGc] Video The Reopening of Turkey's Controversial Greek Orthodox Monastery 3:50 [YVN0aWxsMD] Video Explore the Ruins of a Medieval East African Empire 3:41 [aWxsMDQuan] Video * PinDrop This Statue of a Decomposing Prince Once Held His Actual Heart 1:15 [MDEuanBn] Video * Wonder From Home Show & Tell With a Pull-Tab Archaeologist 10:07 [NC5qcGc] Video * PinDrop An Ancient Cemetery, Resurrected 1:51 [bGwwMTIuan] Video Inside Ohio's Experimental Archaeology Lab 7:29 [aWlTdGlsbC] Video * AO Docs Hawai`i's Native-Language Newspaper Archive 3:35 Sponsored by Olukai [cmNoMDIuan] Video * AO Docs 'Discovering' Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Migration 6:46 [dXJlcyAwMy] Video * Object of Intrigue The Real Story Behind George Washington's Dentures 3:30 [anBn] Video * Object of Intrigue Behold, the Vampire-Killing Kit 4:19 [cGc] Video See the Mysterious Horned Helmet of Henry VIII 4:00 Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member. From Around the Web Atlas Obscura Trips Literature, Lore & Libations Across Ireland's Northwest View This Trip [] See Fewer Ads Become an Atlas Obscura member and experience far fewer ads and no pop-ups. Learn More Get Our Email Newsletter [ ] Thanks for subscribing! View all newsletters >> [Submit] Follow Us * * * * * * Get the app Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play Download the App Places * All Places * Latest Places * Most Popular * Places to Eat * Random * Nearby * Add a Place Editorial * Stories * Food & Drink * Itineraries * Lists * Puzzles * Video * Podcast * Newsletters Trips * All Trips * Trips Blog * Art & Culture Trips * Food Trips * Hidden City Trips * History Trips * Photography Trips * Wildlife & Nature Trips * FAQ Experiences * Experiences * Online Courses * Online Experience FAQ * Online Course FAQ Community * Membership * Feedback & Ideas * Product Blog Company * About * Contact Us * FAQ * Work With Us * Advertising * Press * Unique Gifts * Privacy Policy * Cookie Policy * Terms of Use (c) 2022 Atlas Obscura. All rights reserved. Questions or Feedback? Contact Us Thanks for sharing! Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Want a Free Book? Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book, Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders. [ ] Subscribe No Thanks Visit AtlasObscura.com Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders Stay in Touch! Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow Us on Instagram No Thanks Visit AtlasObscura.com No purchase necessary. Winner will be selected at random on 09/01/ 2022. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Offer subject to change without notice. See contest rules for full details. Add Some Wonder to Your Inbox Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. [ ] Subscribe No Thanks We'd Like You to Like Us Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. No Thanks [p] Quantcast