2014:309 - Eanach Dhuin, Galway

A test excavation was carried out over a two-week period from 8 to 19 December 2014 at a site in Eanach Dhúin townland, County Galway. An extension to the graveyard for Annaghdown was proposed for the site, which was located adjacent to the north-north-west side of the existing graveyard. Testing was necessary as the site was located within the constraint for the Annaghdown Early Medieval Ecclesiastical Site (GA069-001), which is a National Monument (Reg. No. 49).
The medieval monastic complex at Annaghdown is traditionally attributed to St Brendan of Clonfert and became the see of a diocese for a time from c. 1188-9. Its many buildings include a nunnery, an abbey comprising a late medieval church with incorporated chancel, a cloister and associated buildings, and the 'cathedral' which dates to the 15th century and contains a fine 12th-century Romanesque window which may have originally come from the abbey.
A geophysical survey of the proposed site of the graveyard extension was carried out by Roseanne Schot in August 2013 (Licence No. 13R86). The survey revealed a number of anomalies which required further investigation, hence the testing. Testing by Ros Ó Maoldúin of a site across the road to the north-east,  in January 2014 (Consent No. 627/E4530), revealed a large 4m-wide ditch.
The proposed site of the graveyard extension was located within a relatively flat field of pasture and measured 65m east-west by 20m. The southern site boundary was the northern boundary wall of the adjacent graveyard (GA069-001006). No archaeological features were visible on the surface within the site. Three trenches (B, C and E) were excavated by hand. These measured 12m, 10m and 12m long respectively, 2m wide and 0.15-2.0m deep.
A possible pit feature (F1), measuring 3.2m north-north-west/south-south-east, up to 0.4m deep and extending 1.5m into the west-south-west side of the trench was uncovered in Trench B. The excavation of Trench C uncovered an east-north-east/west-south-west orientated ditch (F2), which extended across the trench and measured 4.2m wide and 1.55-1.8m deep. The upper fill (C10) of the ditch (F2) contained a large amount of animal bone, one human bone (left humerus) and occasional charcoal. The fill (C12) below contained an equally large amount of animal bone, occasional flecks of charcoal and four pieces of iron slag. The basal fill (C17) of the ditch contained a larger amount of animal bone than the two upper fills (C10 and C12). It also contained occasional charcoal and three pieces of iron slag. A pegtile sherd, a small human skull fragment and a rotary quern fragment were found in the topsoil of the same trench (C). The quernstone fragment was from the well-executed upper stone of a disc quern with the upper surface showing part of a cross motif. A second pegtile sherd was recovered from the topsoil in the third trench (E). The two pegtile sherds were of post-medieval date. The bone assemblage of 848 fragments yielded 186 countable fragments of cattle, sheep/goat, pig, horse, dog and cat bones and teeth, as well as the two human bones. Animal bone samples taken from the basal fill (C17) of the ditch (F2) yielded radiocarbon dates from the 11th and 12th century AD.
The ditch feature (F2) and the possible pit feature (F1) correlated with anomalies identified in the Geophysical Survey. The ditch (F2) was of a similar dimension to that uncovered by Ó Maoldúin with iron slag also found in Ó Maoldúin's ditch. Given the 11th- and 12th-century dates from the basal fill (C17) of the ditch (F2), the iron slag found in the lower fills (C12 and C17) and the human humerus found in the upper fill (C10), the feature (F2) is undoubtedly associated with the adjacent medieval site and would appear to be a section of the ecclesiastical enclosure. The rotary quern fragment and human skull fragment found in the topsoil are further archaeological evidence of the early medieval ecclesiastical site.

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