County: Kerry Site name: 'SCEILLIG MHICHÍL', Skellig Rock Great
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Ann Lynch, National Parks & Monuments Branch, Office of Public Works
Site type: Enclosure and Terrace
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 425016m, N 561020m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 51.774098, -10.535798
The excavations undertaken in June/July '86 were concentrated in three areas:
(1) the entrance to the monastic enclosure
(2) the ledge below the little oratory
(3) the little oratory terrace
Limited excavations were also carried out inside the large oratory.
The entrance area
It was shown that the western and northern revetment walls of the entrance passage had been built in the 19th century when the lighthouse men were living in the monastic enclosure. No trace of the Early Christian walls could be seen. The cutting excavated behind the western revetment wall revealed c. 50cm of 19th-century deposits (associated with the construction of the wall) resting on c. 1m of sandy clays which produced flecks of charcoal and a few small animal bone fragments but no datable material.
The little oratory ledge
The major conservation job of the season was the buttressing and repair of the terrace revetment wall, just east of the little oratory. This involved the construction of a reinforced concrete buttressing arch on the narrow ledge outside the revetment wall.
The depth of soil cover on the ledge ranged from c. 60cm at the northern end to over 1.50m at the southern end due to shelving bedrock. The few artefacts recovered were all modern in date. The excavation also revealed that the drystone revetment wall was sitting on a loose rubble layer without any proper foundations.
The little oratory terrace
The ground level needed to be reduced here to relieve the pressure on the revetment wall and to facilitate improved drainage. The excavation revealed up to 30cm of peat growth on the terrace which, when removed, exposed some of the original paving and steps on the western side of the oratory. The northern wall of the oratory was shown to rest on the rubble fill of a drain which ran E-W and which must have been constructed as part of the original oratory complex. The paving slabs exposed east of the oratory extended under the oratory wall serving the dual purpose of paving and wall footings.
