2011:058 - CAHERCONNELL, Clare

Caherconnell cashel is the largest of four drystone enclosures in the townland of the same name, in the Burren, Co. Clare. The cashel is circular, with a diameter of 42m. It is defined by drystone walls standing 3m in basal width and 3m in height (though they were probably originally higher). Its entrance, like that of most ringforts, faces east.

Today, the interior of the cashel is, on average, 0.75m above external ground level. A small number of features protrude above the modern grassy surface. These include a collapsed drystone wall that divides the interior in two, the lower courses of an irregularly shaped stone structure built up against the inner face of the cashel on the west (Structure B), and the lower stone courses of a rectangular structure built inside the cashel wall on the north (Structure A). An international field school has been established to undertake research excavation of the cashel.

In 2010 the Caherconnell Archaeological Field School excavated the entrance to the cashel, revealing a path inside an inserted medieval entrance (Excavations 2010, no. 86). Finds included a decorated bone comb, musket-shot and a bronze 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. Shallow niches in the cashel wall, in line with the outer sill, supported vertical jamb stones. Three of the four cut and dressed jambs were located. The dressing suggests a medieval date. This entrance was probably constructed around the 15th or 16th century, when a rectangular house was built inside the cashel (Structure A—target of test excavation in 2007: Excavations 2007, no. 149, 07E0820).

A slab-paved path was found leading to/from the northern half of the entrance. The inexact alignment of the path with the medieval entrance suggested 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 the 12th century AD. The original entrance from this date was completely remodelled in the 15th/16th century, but excavations did uncover one trace of it—a single post-hole (that would have held a large gatepost).

The 2011 Caherconnell Archaeological Field School excavations concentrated on an area within the interior of the cashel, immediately adjacent to the 2010 cutting. This work also identified several phases of activity, some associated with deliberately laid slab surfaces. Artefacts included the remains of at least eight finely made bone combs (some decorated), a decorated bronze dress-pin, a bronze hairpin, a quartz bead and a number of iron knives.

Identifying and dating the various phases of activity at Caherconnell cashel is an ongoing study, with every new radiocarbon date facilitating refinement of the chronological story. The dates obtained so far suggest the following sequence.

PHASE 1: A fire-pit quarried into the bedrock, discovered in 2011, produced a 7th-century AD date. This probably represents pre-cashel activity, though future work may determine otherwise.

PHASE 2: This phase is marked by the levelling-off of the uneven ground surface and the construction of Caherconnell cashel. The walls were built partly on bedrock and partly on levelling material. A slab surface was laid down inside the cashel and occupation material accumulated on top of this. Radiocarbon dates suggest a 10th–11th-century date for this phase.

PHASE 3: This saw the laying of a new slab surface, and the build-up of occupation material on top of it. Dates suggest activity in the 11th–14th centuries AD.

PHASE 4: This was the final phase of occupation within the cashel. A new entrance was inserted, and a rectangular house built inside the north wall of the cashel. It dates from the 15th–16th century, possibly into the start of the 17th.

PHASE 5: The final phase of activity includes post-occupation use of the cashel as an animal pen, collapse of structures and tumble of stone from parts of the cashel wall. It dates from the 17th century to the early 20th century.

No. 58. Caherconnell cashel: 2011 cutting visible (photo: Georg Notni).

School of Geography and Archaeology, NUI, Galway