One intact human infant burial was observed in the course of the Medieval Rural Settlement (see pages in Research section) excavations at Tulsk, Co. Roscommon. Preliminary specialist examination of the skeleton by Linda Lynch indicates that the infant was aged between 1 month and 3 months at the time of death. A pathological process, or fracture, is evident in the left clavicle (collarbone) and some of the ribs, and this detail is being investigated further. The burial is in good condition, especially the cranial bones. The skeleton occupied a simple shallow grave which was cut into three underlying horizons, the lower two of which are associated with early medieval occupation of the site. The grave underlies a sequence that predates the introduction of a series of deposits associated with the raising of the ringfort in which it occurs, indicating that the burial represents a transitional stage between the use of the site in the early medieval period, and before the insertion of a masonry tower in the later medieval period. The burial indicates a transitional phase on the site, the date of which, it is hoped, can be ascertained by a careful study of the skeletal remains.

The excavation has uncovered other fragments of human bones from different contexts around the site. The bone fragments are not from in situ contexts, and represent disturbances of pre-existing levels that have been reconstituted as inclusions in later horizons. Nevertheless, the presence of the fragments indicates that the infant burial may not be an isolated occurrence within the mound. The contexts of the fragments also supports the possibility of an early date for the infant burial.