1998:256 - HIGH ISLAND, Galway

In summer 1998 a fourth season of excavation was carried out at the Early Christian monastery on High Island, Co. Galway, with funding from Dúchas, The National Monuments and Historic Properties Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands.

Following on from previous years' excavations, the partially collapsed central section of the east wall of the church and the stone altar inside the church were dismantled. Excavation of the deposits beneath revealed remains of an earlier altar. This altar, its later replacement and the church were constructed over an extensive burnt deposit, which has so far yielded Iron Age dates. Based on dating evidence as revealed from radiocarbon analysis of burials adjacent to the church, the church is late 9th-10th century in date.

Outside the north and south enclosure walls a c. 2m-wide strip was cleared of rubble and soil and a paved surface exposed. Remains of an earlier enclosure wall were identified on the north side. Beyond the north enclosure wall the entrance to Cell A, the smaller of the two partially intact beehive cells, was excavated. The cell was entered directly from the paved area around the enclosure. Excavation of the cell interior was completed. A paved floor with remains of an occupation deposit was exposed. Two decorated slabs were found incorporated into the floor.

Further to the east excavation in the larger cell, Cell B, was 90% completed. A substantial stone-floored hearth with associated hearth debris covered most of the cell interior, suggesting that this building may have functioned as the monastic kitchen. It appears that this cell (and not Cell A as suggested by G. Petrie in 1820) was linked to the enclosure by means of a covered passage; further excavation is required to confirm this.

The wall chamber in the cashel wall was partially excavated. Only a shallow build-up of an organic-type deposit remained in situ at the base of the chamber, the remaining depth being composed of fragmented rubble and collapsed lintels from the chamber roof. Excavation in the dog-legged trench, which extended from the wall chamber as far as the west wall of the enclosure, continued. Remains of the collapsed cashel wall were identified at the west end of the trench, while at the east end several layers of a stone-paved surface, contemporary with the paved area around the south enclosure wall, were exposed. In the central part of the trench, and contemporary with the earliest of the paved surfaces, a number of stone-built features (one possibly being a drain) were identified but not excavated.

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