County: Clare Site name: Caherconnell
Sites and Monuments Record No.: CL009–03010 Licence number: 10E0087
Author: Graham Hull and Michelle Comber, Caherconnell Archaeological Field School, Caherconnell, Co. Clare.
Site type: Medieval cashel entrance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 523587m, N 699524m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.040920, -9.139462
The cashel entrance was excavated, revealing a path inside a medieval entrance. Finds included a decorated bone comb, musket shot and a peg from a harp. The medieval entrance comprised two sets of double doors within the entrance passage, each marked by a stone sill and a pair of spud-stones. The inner sill is of better quality cut stone, with two well-cut and dressed ‘door stop’ stones inside the door position. Shallow niches in the cashel wall, in line with the outer sill, supported vertical jamb stones. Three of the four jambs were located. These are also cut and dressed stones. The dressing suggests a medieval date. This entrance was not the original one, and was probably constructed in the 15th or 16th century.
Inside the cashel, a slab-paved path was found leading to/from the entrance, lining up roughly (though not exactly) with the northern half of the entrance. The inexact alignment of the path with the medieval entrance might suggest that the path is earlier in date. A paved surface was uncovered to the north of the path, and an irregular stony surface to the south. Medieval remains were found above these levels, earlier material below.
This earlier material represents the primary activity within the cashel, probably dating from the 10th to 12th century ad. The original entrance from this date was completely remodelled in the 15th/16th century; however, excavations did uncover one trace of it – a single post-hole (that would have held a large gate-post).
