2007:444 - CHURCHTOWN UPPER: Notre Dame, Dublin

Excavations at the site of St Nahi’s Church site at Taney (Teach Nahi) uncovered the substantial remains of the early medieval (AD 600–1100) outer defensive enclosures and elements of a medieval (AD 1200–1550)/post-medieval (AD 1550–1700) farm and later rectangular field systems. The excavations were carried out between June and November 2007 in the former grounds of Notre Dame School in Dundrum, Co. Dublin.

Early medieval church enclosures (c. AD 600–1100)
The excavations revealed two curving ecclesiastical enclosures dating from the early medieval period. These enclosures, or ditched defensive boundaries, defined the outer enclosure or precinct boundary around St Nahi’s Church and superseded one another, with each subsequent enclosure enclosing a greater area. These outer enclosures were located adjoining the inner enclosure that would have surrounded the church and graveyard located to the east of the archaeological excavation. The location of the inner enclosure that surrounded the church and graveyard is reflected by the arcing curve of the Upper Churchtown Road and the topography at the site.

The outer enclosures are likely to have surrounded dwelling houses. Evidence for internal subdivision within the outer enclosure is present in the form of a palisade trench and an internal ditch. Unfortunately, the creation of a hockey pitch in the 20th century scarped the site when evidence for houses or occupation surfaces was presumably removed. The growing size of the defensive enclosures could be interpreted as an indication of the high status of the site; however, the threat of raiding may provide a more plausible explanation for such formidable ditches. The discovery of two Rathdown slabs in the church graveyard is clear evidence for the merging of Christian cultural burial traditions and later Norse artistic styles.

V-shaped enclosure
The primary evidence for the outer church site enclosure was in the form of a large earth-cut V-shaped ditch measuring 2.8m wide and 1.6m deep. The ditch formed a large D-shaped enclosure adjoining the western side of the church and graveyard enclosing an area measuring 36m east–west by 80m. The enclosure would have been further augmented by a large bank topped by a defensive palisade (likely to have been a stout timber fence). The only contemporary feature within the primary enclosure recorded during the excavation was the construction of a 47m-long palisade trench that measured 30m east–west by 25m. It measured 0.6m–0.8m wide with an average depth of 0.26–0.42m. The palisade was curved and was roughly L-shaped in plan. The morphology of the palisade trench suggested that it curved around a dwelling.

U-shaped enclosure
The defensive earthworks were significantly expanded and altered in the latter part of the early medieval period, resulting in the construction of a substantial U-shaped ditch, measuring 4m wide and 3m deep and enclosing an area 40m east–west by at least 100m. As the outer U-shaped enclosure was extended and enlarged, the earlier V-shaped enclosure was backfilled and fell into disuse.

The only contemporary feature recorded during the excavation within the U-shaped enclosure was an internal V-shaped ditched boundary. The internal boundary was filled with charcoal-rich clay and contrasted with the sterile fills of the enclosure ditches. The internal boundary contained ash, bone pins, charcoal and animal bones, indicative of domestic occupation.

High medieval remains (c. AD 1170–1550)
The archaeological features and deposits dating to the Norman and later periods were characterised by the replacement of the curvilinear enclosures with rectilinear field systems. Two newly laid out large rectangular fields were established, replacing and cutting through the earlier enclosures. Anglo-Norman settlement remains were also identified in the form of large storage/refuse pits, a well, two house sites and boundary ditches that indicate the growth of a significant settlement at the site.

The settlement remains indicate that the church was the administrative centre for a large farm in the medieval period (AD 1200–1500). Taney Church was a prebendal church and this fact and the recovery of significant artefacts, including the discovery of an almost complete Flemish redware jug (13th-century), suggest the presence of a significant medieval settlement at the site. The historical sources clearly demonstrate that the church at Taney was an important local church, with an administrative role over other churches and sizable landholdings. Archbishop Allen’s register refers numerously to Taney throughout the medieval period and to the deanery of Taney. The Dean held the position of Archdeacon in St Patrick’s Cathedral. The settlement was reorganised throughout the medieval period, indicated by the construction of a stone ‘house-complex’ at the south of the site, enclosed by a rectangular ditch, within the field systems revealed at the site.

Post-medieval remains (c. AD 1550–1800)
Several wall fragments and related levelling activity in the 17th century attest to the construction of a stone building above the earlier medieval stone house. This later reconstruction of the earlier building involved laying a new cobbled surface above the earlier medieval floor. Several layers of levelling material and a mortar layer or surface were later deposited inside the building. Other alterations in the area included a large boundary ditch to the south-west of the site. The field systems were largely maintained in the post-medieval period.

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