County: Kilkenny Site name: DYSART, Dysart
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Ben Murtagh and Mark E. Hall
Site type: Church and Castle - tower house
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 659686m, N 639098m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.500009, -7.120929
In June and July of 1989, a four-week excavation was conducted at Dysart, under the auspices of the University of California, Berkeley. This involved the arrival at the site of a crew of 23 from the USA. The surviving architectural remains above the ground include the ruins of a 13th-century church, with a 15th-century tower house at west and a later building running south from the latter. During the Middle Ages, the site was a grange for the Augustinian Priory of Kells. It was later the childhood home of a famous philosopher, Bishop George Berkeley (1685-1753).
The work involved the excavation of three probe trenches. These were to determine the extent of the archaeological stratigraphy below the ground. This was necessary in order to give an indication of the amount of excavation that would be required in order to facilitate conservation work in the future.
Trench A was located on a rock ledge, 45m south-east of the site. The stratigraphy indicated that this 'cave' was used as a quarry for local green/grey slate in the 19th century. Trench B was located at the north side of the church. It revealed inhumations that pre-dated the church. This evidence, together with two Early Christian cross slabs and a number of architectural fragments from the site, indicates that there was a pre-Norman church at Dysart. This assumption is backed up by documentary evidence.
Trench C was located to the south of the Residential Tower, on the site of the supposed 'Berkeley House'. The excavation revealed three levels of housing in the trench. The earliest was represented by postholes in the glacially deposited gravel. The second level of housing was represented by an extensive stone foundation. The finds indicate a date in the later 17th century for its construction. The gable wall of a later house was found above the latter, dating to around the late 18th century. Sherds of South Leinster Ware were found in three levels in Trench C.
Although the 1989 season of excavation points to the continued use of the Dysart site over a long period of time, further excavation will be required in order to give a clear view of its extent.
4 Roseville Court, Naas, Co. Kildare and Dept. of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, USA
