2014:310 - CLEENISH, Fermanagh

According to Jonas, his biographer, when Columbanus ‘left his birthplace…he betook himself to a holy man named Sinell, who…was distinguished among his countrymen for his unusual piety and knowledge of the Holy Scriptures’. Chief saint of Lough Erne, Sinell founded a monastery at Claoin Inis (Cleenish), a small island on Upper Lough Erne, County Fermanagh. A graveyard containing medieval architectural fragments and cross slabs is traditionally believed to be the site of Sinell’s monastery. The results of geophysical survey and excavation (2013-14) lend considerable support to this hypothesis.

Around the graveyard geophysics revealed a remarkable array of features consistent with an early Irish ecclesiastical site. The dominant feature is a large, D-shaped enclosure with internal sub-divisions, encompassing an area of c. 160m by 125m. The network of associated fields and trackways, together with smaller enclosures and structures suggests multi-phase occupation.

A trench excavated across the boundary of the main enclosure confirmed it to be a fosse, with a V-shaped profile, measuring 2.8m wide and 1.1m deep. Most of the fill derived from the inner, upslope, side; however, no definitive evidence for a bank was identified. Animal bone, an iron needle and iron knife blade were retrieved from the basal fill.

A second trench inside the enclosure revealed a shallow pit and ditch, filled by charcoal-rich soil, fragments of burnt stone and animal bone.

The skeleton of an adult male was also uncovered. Buried in a supine position, feet to the east, osteoarchaeological analysis (Dr Linda Lynch) revealed that he died violently. Cut- and stab-marks on his ribs, right shoulder and neck suggest he was killed by multiple attackers and possibly even decapitated. A radiocarbon sample from this unfortunate man has returned a late 6th – early 7th-century date, raising the possibility that, if he did not know Columbanus personally, he may well have known others who did. His death is a reminder that life in the land of saints and scholars was not always peaceful, and that raids on monasteries took place long before the arrival of the Vikings.