County: Monaghan Site name: ST PATRICK’S CHURCHYARD, Donaghmoyne
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 99E0697 ext.
Author: Eoghan Moore
Site type: Church
Period/Dating: Early Medieval (AD 400-AD 1099)
ITM: E 684991m, N 807211m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.007130, -6.703423
The strategy behind the second excavation of the church remains at the site of St Patrick’s churchyard, Donaghmoyne, Co. Monaghan, was based on the results of the previous excavation at the site (Excavations 1999, 254). Excavation was continued in Trench 1 to investigate the existence of any remains beneath the 17th-century church foundation uncovered during the initial excavation and in Trench 2 to further investigate the stone features there.
In Trench 1 the remains of a second foundation, composed of a series of large stones placed on top of each other in a structured manner, were uncovered immediately beneath the church foundations. The remains of a possible blocked-up doorway were also exposed. The doorway was c. 0.7m wide east–west and was exposed to a depth of 0.65m. As the excavation was limited by both area and time, the full extent of this earlier foundation was not exposed. A large sherd of medieval pottery was uncovered within a rubble layer that overlay the earlier foundation.
Work in Trench 2 revealed that the linear stone feature and the stone surface were non-archaeological, and both were interpreted as being a result of modern disturbance.
Prospect House, Dunsrim, Scotshouse, Co. Monaghan
