2005:1529 - CLONFAD (3), Westmeath

Excavation of site Clonfad 3, in Clonfad townland, Co. Westmeath, commenced in November 2004 (Excavations 2004, No. 1724) and concluded in February 2005. The site was excavated as part of the archaeological mitigation of the Kinnegad to–Kilbeggan N6 dual carriageway. As the excavation proceeded, the following sites were all included under the main number: A001/036 Clonfad 3–6, A001/038 Clonfad 5, A001/039 Clonfad 6.1, A001/039 Clonfad 6.2, A001/039 Clonfad 6.3. The proposed N52 upgrade passes close to a graveyard and ruined church. Excavation of the road corridor revealed the site to be a large Early Christian and medieval ecclesiastical monastic enclosure, with a significant assemblage of early historical artefacts and ironworking activity, detailed below.

Clonfad gives its name to the townland and parish Cluain Fáda, meaning the ‘Long Meadow’. The early historic monastic origins of this site appear to be in the late 6th century, when Clonfad was founded by Bishop Etchen some time before his death in AD 578. The site is then mentioned in the mid-8th century and again in 799, and is described in The Annals of the Four Masters as being burnt and desecrated in AD 887.

Prior to excavation, the site was only visible as a simple ruined stone church and circular enclosing stone-walled graveyard, to the west of the road corridor and outside the excavation area. However, this probably forms part of the inner enclosure of the original monastery on this site, which would have enclosed most of the hillside. The site overlooked the low ground to the east and south, and notably the western marginal low-lying marshland that extended to the shores of Lough Ennell and the royal settlements at nearby Lough Ennell.

Excavation of the proposed road corridor measured 130m in length and 30–40m in width and encroached on only part of this very large site. Excavation revealed at least two concentric ditches enclosing the innermost walled graveyard and church. The outermost curvilinear oval ditch is estimated at 200–220m in diameter (enclosing c. 1.25ha/3.08 acres), while the inner ditch measured c. 100–110m in estimated diameter. Both terminated at an old stream course to the south, although the line of the outer enclosure is traceable as a faint earthwork in the field to the west. If proved to be contemporary, both ditches would enclose the church and circular walled graveyard, which would then form an innermost concentric enclosure, itself measuring 47–50m in diameter, thus making Clonfad a relatively large trivallate enclosure, typical of a medium to high status Early Christian monastic site.

Work revealed ecclesiastical occupation activity dating from the Early Christian to the medieval period and later secular occupation dating to the post-medieval period. The early monastic phase (Phase 1) was delimited to the south by the stream and to the north by a very large curving enclosure ditch. The interior was further subdivided by two internal enclosing ditches that drained into the stream. This phase produced structural occupation evidence such as wells, refuse pits and post-holes and also included a very large artefact and faunal assemblage, including evidence of bone/antler comb-making and other bone working, plus c. 2 tonnes of metalworking waste, which included large-scale iron smithing, hand-bell brazing and fine bronze-working activity. A second later monastic phase in the Anglo-Norman period (Phase 2) was far more sparsely represented, but consisted of both the existing medieval church (outside the CPO/excavation area) and two stone-lined corn-drying kilns, which produced datable medieval material. Two further undated kilns and a sub-adult Christian inhumation may also relate to the ecclesiastical phase(s) of activity, but this was not possible to date. Finally, post-medieval activity (Phase 3) followed the abandonment of the church site and the creation of the existing walled graveyard, and construction of a large courtyard and dwelling and associated reorganisation of the field boundaries around the graveyard and surrounding area. The building was then abandoned and demolished in the 20th century (Phase 4), whilst burial in the graveyard continued until 1969.

Preliminary analysis of the artefacts points to a general date range from the 6th to 10th century AD, with a second smaller assemblage of 13th/14th-century material and some late 17th- to 20th-century material also present. Over 600 finds were produced from this excavation, with a range typical of a large high-status Early Christian site. The majority of stratified artefacts were recovered from the Phase 1 Early Christian features and layers. Moreover, the lower fills of the large outer enclosing ditch produced over half the assemblage, with additional material recovered from wells and pits inside the enclosure. A limited number of medieval finds were also produced. A large number of objects associated with iron smithing were also revealed. A metal detector survey also produced a large quantity of unstratified mostly ferrous metal artefacts. The finds assemblage included metalwork (knife blades, tools, two ring pins, metalworking waste), worked bone pins, antler combs and blanks, pins and button manufacture, rotary quernstones, rotary grinding stones and a lignite bracelet. Significant evidence for iron smithing, fine metalworking (bronze), bone/antler comb and button manufacture and some evidence for textile production were revealed. Two burials were also recovered from this site: a child inhumation buried east–west and supine, plus a fragment of ex situ skull from a plough furrow.

Post-medieval finds included 17th-century gun-money, onion-shaped wine bottles, red and black earthenware pottery, as well as china and delphware pottery and clay-pipe stems.

Perhaps the most significant element of this excavation was the recovery of nearly two metric tonnes of archaeometallurgical residues, one of the largest Irish metalworking assemblages recovered from a site of this date. This also included the unique discovery of evidence for production of wrought-iron handbells: pieces of vitrified clay have been identified by archaeometallic specialist Tim Young as the coating from brazing of Type 1 wrought-iron handbells. ‘This is of enormous significance as such handbells formed an important symbol in the Celtic church, from the 7th century to the 10th century. Although widely distributed across the area of influence of the Celtic church (Wales, Scotland, Ireland), they are most common in Irish South Midlands. The thin non-ferrous coating on the iron bells has not been studied in detail, but the Clonfad evidence suggests for the first time that it was applied by brazing’ (T. Young in his preliminary analysis). Other diagnostic material, particularly smithing hearth cakes attributable to ironworking, together with pyramidal ceramic crucibles, stone/clay moulds, large tuyères, baked clay, vitrified clay and amorphous iron slag and bog ore deposits were all recovered from both the outer ditch fills and the vicinity of large furnace bowls in one large dump at the stream’s edge. Although, no evidence for iron smelting was recovered, it can be postulated that the site was producing secondary blooms (billets) for smithing. Most of the material was stratigraphically dated to the early historic phase, although at least one smithing hearth was post-medieval in date (which produced a 17th-century coin and numerous pieces of hammer scale).

The results presented here are still very much a preliminary examination of the site, concentrating on the structural and contextual material. A full and detailed examination will only be possible following the specialist analysis of all the finds and samples recovered from the excavation. This excavation revealed a large and previously unknown early monastic enclosure site close to Lough Ennell, in County Westmeath. The partial excavation of the site (c. 10% of the total enclosure area) produced very significant evidence of monastic life in the early medieval period, and later ecclesiastical and secular occupation. It also revealed a very large and significant assemblage of Early Christian artefacts, including the largest Irish early historic metalworking assemblage to date and unique evidence of handbell production. Although analysis is only at a preliminary stage, it is hoped a prolific programme of analysis and dating will take place in early 2006.

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