2006:133 - CLONFEACLE CHURCH, Armagh

Archaeological mitigation was required in advance of a proposed graveyard extension. Historical evidence pointed to Clonfeacle as being the location of an Early Christian monastic site. Topsoil removal was conducted across the area of the proposed graveyard extension. The topsoil removal revealed a series of linear features extending across the site. Full excavation of the features was conducted. Three main features were identified within the excavation area.

A short section of the probable outer enclosing ditch of the monastic site was identified. As it survived, the ditch was c. 3m wide and cut directly into subsoil to a depth of 1.5m. The ditch had been recut several times in antiquity. A bowl furnace was identified within the upper fill of the ditch. The furnace was roughly circular in plan with a diameter of c. 0.6m. The main fill was charcoal-rich and contained large quantities of slag. The base of the furnace survived intact and consisted of a compact layer of baked clay.

A substantial ditch bisected the excavation area in an approximate north-west/south-east direction. This ditch averaged 4m in width and was cut through a number of earlier features and into subsoil to a depth of 2m. It contained a fairly homogenous fill, from which Early Christian pottery was retrieved. It is believed that this ditch represents an internal division or trian within the monastic enclosure.

A substantial industrial area was also identified. This consisted of a large quarried area c. 10m by 12m, which was cut directly into subsoil to a maximum depth of 0.6m. The base of the quarried area was sealed by a thick charcoal-rich layer, which contained massive amounts of metal slag. Removal of this layer revealed a series of pits, one of which contained a quernstone, and the remains of a heavily truncated bowl furnace.

The remainder of the site consisted of a series of subsoil-cut gullies and pits. A number of the gullies appear to represent the remains of smaller enclosures, but later disturbance has removed any internal features which may have existed within them. A number of Early Christian agricultural features were also identified.

For a site of this size and apparent importance, the number of artefacts retrieved was low. However, the site did yield two pieces of particular importance. These consisted of two shale motif-pieces, which have been analysed by the Ulster Museum with the following conclusions: ‘The two Clonfeacle pieces can be dated to the 8th century and there is no reason to suppose that they are not more or less contemporary. Both are unusual in the corpus of Irish motif-pieces in their degree of accomplishment and the nature of their designs. An analogous animal head (allied to those of the “Tara” brooch) appears on a motif-piece from Deerpark Farms, Co. Antrim, and spirals occur sporadically, as on an example from Nendrum, Co. Down. Another Nendrum piece bears a compass-drawn circle framing a symmetrical arrangement of three lesser circles which are likewise compass-drawn, and a three-legged trumpet spiral was perhaps planned but unrealised. At Clonfeacle, as at Nendrum and elsewhere, there can be no doubt that the motif-pieces are the preliminary sketches of an artist (or artists) working in one or more of the media already referred to. The designs are of some sophistication and confirm the capacity of the Clonfeacle establishment (whatever its nature) to work creatively in the mainstream of Irish art in the 8th century.’

The capacity to produce something as sophisticated as the Clonmore shrine is also hinted at, if retrospectively. The shrine conspicuously lacks animal ornament and is best assigned to the 7th century, perhaps to its second half. But it is worth remarking that the compass-drawn, encircled triskele seen on the larger motif-piece from Clonfeacle is also a feature of the shrine, although in an asymmetrical and more complex form. The roundels are comparable in broad terms and are not dissimilar in size; the diameter of the Clonmore roundel is 28mm, that of the motif-piece 43mm. The smaller Clonfeacle piece also recalls the shrine in that the latter has peltae of analogous form between symmetrical triskeles. The Clonfeacle pieces must be later by some generations and date to a time when spiral patterns remained in vogue but animal art had been fully assimilated. Clonmore and Clonfeacle are beside the River Blackwater and are only six miles apart. The quality of the motif-pieces suggests an artistic tradition of long standing, and it is reasonable to suppose that the skills necessary to produce the shrine were represented at Clonfeacle in the 7th century.

Editor’s note: Although this licence was issued during 2004, the report on the work was not received in time for inclusion in the bulletin of that year.

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