County: Roscommon Site name: TEMPLEDRINEY CHURCH, Erris
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 93E0151
Author: John Channing
Site type: Church and Enclosure
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 582155m, N 802712m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.973382, -8.272002
This site may be subdivided into two further sites. Firstly, a burial ground associated with Templedriney church, the location of which was approximated on the first edition OS 6" map, and secondly an enclosure site. The relationship between the two sites could not be ascertained from the stratigraphy and artefacts present, C14 dating etc. may alter this.
The church site, Templedriney, has previously appeared in Excavations 1989, 45, No. 81; the proposed road-take has since been revised to avoid most of the site. However at least 17 inhumations were uncovered in the vicinity of the site. These remains are currently being analysed. All burials were on a rough east-west axis, the majority of which were extended; two truncated inhumations may have been crouched or semi-crouched. The excavations did not encounter any burial paraphernalia.
The enclosure site is located some 20m north of the burial site. The proposed road-take had been revised to avoid the site and now clips the eastern edge of the enclosure. The original road-take was initially tested by Breandán Ó Ríordáin who uncovered evidence of a souterrain and probable habitation. The current investigations within the revised road-take unearthed evidence of habitation detritus both in the existing topsoil and in four pits. Finds include a small iron penannular brooch, fragments of two bone combs and a fragment of a lignite bracelet. The brooch was located in a pit, which also produced an unidentified bone object somewhat similar to a gaming piece. Post-excavation work is on-going.
58 Marley Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14
