Over 100 skeletons, some over 1,000 years old, were discovered off Capel Street, Dublin, during archaeological excavations for a hotel development.

Bullitt Hotel – which is on track to be built between Abbey Street and Mary's Lane – is now the site of an archaeological discovery.

The find reveals the existence of a Christian church predating the foundation of St Mary’s Abbey, which was previously thought to be the earliest post-Viking settlement in the area.

A member of the archaeology team works on a skeleton at an ancient burial site associated with the earliest inhabitants of medieval Dublin. ( PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo)

The Bullitt Hotel is being built where the Victorian Boland’s bakery and biscuit factory once stood.

However, the site originally housed much older ecclesiastical buildings associated with the monastery founded in the 12th century and then was the home of a Presbyterian meeting house from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Members of the archaeology team works on a skeleton at an ancient burial site associated with the earliest inhabitants of medieval Dublin, which has been discovered along with foundations of buildings dating back to the 1600s, during preparatory works for a new development on Capel Street, Dublin( PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo)

Archaeologists working on the dig had expected findings related to the 1139 French Benedictine monks, who founded St Mary's Abbey. Some of the skeletons discovered today seem to predate this period of history.

The skeletons will be further examined by an osteologist and then transferred to the custody of the National Museum to become part of the national collection.

A member of the archaeology team works on a skeleton at an ancient burial site associated with the earliest inhabitants of medieval Dublin. ( PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo)