What emerged from the excavation was a medieval church and its surrounding graveyard, preserved beneath centuries of earth along the edge of the old East Port road. The church itself was modest in size, measuring roughly 14 metres east to west and 7 metres north to south, with only its low stone foundations surviving to tell its tale.

The most intriguing discovery, however, lay just outside the church’s southwest corner. Here, archaeologists found what appears to have been a stone reliquary or shrine; a carefully constructed box made from flat rectangular stones. Three stones had been set vertically into the ground to form three sides of a box, with the western side left open, whilst a fourth stone lay flat to create the floor. Inside this ancient container were 76 pieces of quartz crystal, deliberately placed and then sealed beneath a layer of sandy clay. A fifth flat stone, found displaced nearby, likely once served as the lid to this mysterious stone box.

This type of quartz deposit isn’t uncommon in Irish medieval contexts, where the crystals were often associated with religious or ritual significance. The careful construction of the stone box and its placement so close to the church suggests this was no casual deposit but rather a deliberate act of devotion or protection. Whether the quartz crystals were meant to sanctify the ground, protect the church, or serve some other spiritual purpose remains a mystery, adding another layer to Ballyhanna’s already rich archaeological story.