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Townland

Bective

Beigthigh

Excavation in the abbey’s southern precinct revealed practical evidence of food production and cultivation.

Recorded locationBective53.58777° N · 6.71019° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
Recorded place location · Logainm.ie

The name

A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.

Recorded forms

  • Beigthigh · Irish · main form · non-validated name
  • Bective · English · main form

Place & story

A medieval cereal-drying kiln

Geraldine Stout’s account of the July 2010 excavation at Bective Abbey records a stone-lined cereal-drying kiln, with its flue, chamber and superstructure surviving beside rake-out deposits and pits. The cereal probably came from farms on the surrounding monastic estate. Nearby post-pads and a mortared wall belonged to a medieval building, but further excavation was needed to establish its extent and relationship to the kiln. [2]

Evidence for cultivation

An enclosure outside the abbey’s south range was also shown to be medieval. Its organically rich soil contained worn shell, bone and pottery fragments, interpreted as evidence of manuring and cultivation. Environmental samples from a nearby drain had produced cabbage or mustard, sorrel, pulses and elderberry remains. These findings supported the interpretation of a kitchen garden, rather than identifying a complete surviving arrangement of planting beds. [2]

Geographic information

Place type
Townland
County
Meath
Civil parish
Bective
Coordinates
53.58777, -6.71019
Mapped area
2.19 km²
Logainm ID
38616 ↗

People & family history

Census figures refer to the matched historical census area for each year. Boundaries and spellings can change over time.

Sources & further reading

  1. Logainm.ie — Bective. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  2. 2010:513 Bective, licences E4028/E4132, C353, R180 · Geraldine Stout, Archaeological Survey of Ireland
  3. Boundary geometry retains its source attribution and licence in the downloadable geographic record. Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-09-29. How this page was prepared.