2001:089 - QUIN FRIARY, Quin, Clare

Twenty-one trial-trenches were excavated by mechanical digger in the vicinity of Quin Friary and St Fineen’s Church, over a two-phase programme of testing in advance of the provision of visitor centre facilities for the friary. These facilities will include the construction of a visitor centre, the making of a path and the construction of a bridge over the river Rine.

In the area of the visitor centre, two trenches were excavated to natural undisturbed levels. Nothing of archaeological significance was recovered.

In the area of the proposed bridge, west of the River Rine, five trenches were excavated to natural, and nothing of archaeological significance was discovered. A further trench was located just west of Quin Friary, and east of the River Rine. Beneath the sod of this trench a layer of hard core was revealed at the western end of the trench, slightly overlying the topsoil. This was associated with recent ESB activity. Excavation was cut short at the eastern end of the trench when it appeared that a fill consisting of rough, uncut stones was being revealed beneath the topsoil. Although these stones were not faced and had no retaining feature, it may be that they were associated with a building adjacent to the friary. The only extant remains of this building consist of an eastern gable, immediately adjacent to the trench.

Excavations in the area of the proposed path revealed a number of skeletal remains. Two metres north of St Fineen’s Church, in a layer of grey-brown clay, a large quantity of disarticulated human and animal bone was found. The bone was often fractured and broken. At a depth of 0.46m below ground level a skull and an articulated portion of a human skeleton, comprising a femur and a lower bone, were uncovered. Fragments of other possibly articulated remains (a pelvis and one long bone) were also revealed. East of this, in similar grey-brown clay, another articulated skeleton was revealed. The skeleton was of a small child, and was orientated east–west, with the head facing east. Occasional animal bone finds came from trenches 10m north of St Fineen’s Church. Approximately 10m east of St Fineen’s Church the remains of at least three human skeletons, lying in situ in an east–west orientation, were discovered. Two were represented only by the lower sections, while the upper part of another skeleton lay directly over one of the lower remains. This discovery of three skeletons confirmed the high archaeological potential of the area. As a consequence an alternative area to the north-west was chosen for the proposed path.

In the area of the second proposed path, seven trenches were excavated to natural and nothing of archaeological significance was discovered. In an eighth trench some animal bones were discovered in the topsoil, mixed with a very small amount of human bone. The bones extended across the trench in a narrow band in an approximately north-east by south-west direction. A cut was made across the trench to catch the extent of the deposition of the bones and to determine whether or not they were articulated. It was determined that the bones consisted of a possible animal burial with a very small amount of disarticulated human bone.

Monitoring of all ground disturbance related to the development was recommended.

Purcell House, Oranmore, Co. Galway