A baby's shoe was among artifacts found in tanks at the former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam.

The fifth interim report from the Mother and Baby Homes Commission was delivered to Cabinet earlier this week.

It concluded that there was "little basis" for the theory that rather than having died, the children of the Tuam home were 'sold' to America.

The report examined the burial arrangements in the institutions.

Image: Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation

It also looked at the transfer of remains to educational institutions for the purpose of anatomical examination.

Photographs, many of which were heavily redacted, were included in the report.

Arrows pointed to apparent human remains - while in one instance, a baby's shoe was found.

Image: Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation

Image: Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation

In total, 16 tanks were identified, opened and recorded during the most recent phase of archaeological investigations.

These 16 tanks - along with four identified and examined in 2016 - were contained within a long concrete structure, built into the southern wall of the large cess pit associated with the Poor Law Union Workhouse, which originally occupied the grounds.

Image: Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation

Human skeletal remains had been identified in all four tanks examined in 2016, and human bone was also recovered, in a disarticulated state in deposits to the north of the north wall of the concrete structure.

Samples of human bone taken from inside the tanks returned radiocarbon dates in the 20th Century.

All identified human skeletal remains from 2016 were juvenile (under 18 years), and specifically were from infants (under one year) or young juveniles (aged one to six years).

Image: Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation

No adult bone (over 18 years) was identified.

"It appears likely that there has been considerable fluctuation in water levels in the tanks since the human remains were originally deposited, resulting in a redistribution of skeletal elements" the report said.

Image: Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation

The report noted: "The remains of a blue shoe from a young juvenile was present near the northern end of the tank".

A blue shoe of a young juvenile (under 6 years) found at the Tuam site | Image: Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation

A plastic bottle was also found on the surface of the sediment within one of the chambers.

'Castrol GTX' was printed directly onto the plastic bottle - which was empty.

Image: Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation

The text on the label read 'Castrol GTX high performance raw oil contents 500ml Castrol (Ireland) Limited.'

Enquiries made by the archaeologist confirmed that this product was released into the UK market for the first time on April 18th 1968.

The commission concluded that the product would have been available on the Irish market on or after that date.

"This information proves that this particular chamber at least was accessible either temporarily or for an extended period of time post-1968".

Main image: A blue shoe of a young juvenile (under 6 years) found at the Tuam site | Image: Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation