County: Kildare Site name: SKENAGUN, Castledermot
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR38:45 Licence number: 96E0330
Author: Anne Connolly, Archaeological Services Unit Ltd.
Site type: Religious house - Fratres Cruciferi
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 678033m, N 685137m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.911404, -6.839839
The site of the proposed development at Skenagun was located to the north of the town of Castledermot, immediately outside the town walls, within the zone of archaeological potential. Archaeological investigations in advance of a proposed development yielded both disturbed and in situ archaeological material. These investigations were based on the excavation of four trial-trenches, three of which yielded no archaeologically significant material. The fourth trench was located at the eastern extremity of the site of the proposed development, adjacent to the site of the Fratres Cruciferi priory (the Priory and Hospital of St John).
The hospital associated with the priory was located immediately outside the town wall, to the north. St John’s Tower, a square tower on a narrow plinth, is all that remains. The stratigraphy recorded in Trench 1 consisted mainly of redeposited building materials and some pottery sherds of late medieval or post-medieval date. The in situ material located in Trench 1 consisted of a possible rough stone foundation and a mortared surface.
Oranmore Industrial Park, Claregalway Rd, Oranmore, Co. Galway
