County: Donegal Site name: RINNARAW
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Thomas Fanning, Dept. of Archaeology, University College, Galway.
Site type: Ringfort - cashel and House - early medieval
Period/Dating: Early Medieval (AD 400-AD 1099)
ITM: E 603751m, N 936783m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 55.178314, -7.941110
A third season of excavations was undertaken at the above site over a seven-week period from June to August 1989. The investigations were concentrated on the house-site and the area to the south of this stone-built structure. Once again the programme of work was facilitated by the Portnablagh Hotel and this enabled the students and graduates of the Department of Archaeology to acquire experience and training in a variety of excavation techniques.
Removal of the overburden of soil and charcoal mix within the northern sector of the house revealed some further traces of paving. The irregular pattern of the pavement in this area as opposed to the fully paved southern 'room' may have been due, in part, to the proximity of the local quartzite bedrock. Excavation along the western wall foundations exposed a narrow entrance feature, 1m in width, located about midway along the wall collapse. Some paving stones had survived in this opening whilst externally a further sizeable shell-midden composed of limpets and periwinkles came to light.
Trowelling over the paved floor area and removal (after planning) of the north-south sectional baulk revealed a group of postholes in two parallel rows. The postholes, in some instances complete with packing stones, were placed so as to provide the ground supports for a series of roofing timbers. When fully exposed the partitioned southern 'room' appears to have had a centrally placed doorway and openings at either side. Small finds from the occupational debris overlying the floor surface and the hearth feature included iron knife blades, stone line-weights and discs, and a lignite ring.
The two cuttings opened up to the south and east of the house site did not reveal any definite features but two interesting quern-stones came to light below the humus level, One of these was a very well-made example of a saddle-quern and the second stone appears to be a portion of a trough-quern. The latter type of quern-stone is uncommon and is best paralleled outside of Ireland from sites in the northern isles of Scotland. The area of these finds and some sections along the perimeter of the enclosure will be the main targets of the season planned for 1990.
