2016:850 - Rockingham Demesne, Roscommon

The excavations at Rockingham revealed some intriguing possibilities, which clearly require further work to achieve a better understanding of the site and its development.

An early and seemingly curving ditch, of as yet unknown date, was revealed in Trench 1. The top of the final fill of the earlier ditch contained fiddle-headed horseshoe nails, which cannot be any earlier than the 1170s. The ditch possibly shows up as an indistinct grey band on the gradiometeric survey, probably because it was shallow, heavily eroded and largely filled with redeposited topsoil. The 2016 aerial survey suggest that the site might initially have been a ringfort and the early ditch uncovered therefore could have been part of this structure. However, the enclosing bank suggested by the aerial survey may be somewhat misleading, as its western side may be at least partly natural, and its southern side may be partly composed of mounds around a ring of possible kilns. Its east and north sides might be more convincing but are not visible on the ground.

The larger and later ditch revealed in Trench 1 is clearly visible on the gradiometeric survey and forms three sides of a roughly rectangular enclosure with an entrance at the south-west corner. It is likely to be the enclosing element of a moated site. Its wet sandy-silt fills provided a perfect environment for organic preservation and the excellent condition of the bronze objects uncovered shows it also has a high potential for the preservation of finds and environmental and economic data.

The site appears to have, at least partly, returned to grassland when a sod layer (F11) developed over the former ditches. A 1270s-80s coin was uncovered from redeposited subsoil directly beneath the sod layer. If the coin was not residual, then the possible moated site appears to have had a lifespan of less than a hundred years. The moated sites excavated to date in Ireland range roughly between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and the form is regarded as an Anglo-Norman introduction. The example at Rockingham could then be early in the series and suggests the Irish soon adopted the site type after it had first appeared in this country.

The horseshoe nails uncovered in the upper fills of the earlier ditch would suggest the same early adoption of other Norman influences. While horseshoes were used in the Roman world they do not appear to have been used in early-medieval Ireland. The large Viking sites excavated in Ireland appear to have produced few if any horseshoes or horseshoe nails. Horseshoes reappear in this country with the arrival of the Anglo-Normans; large numbers occur in early Norman sites, such as the ringwork at Trim, Co. Meath, for example. Of course, as is usual on medieval native sites, the one thing that the Irish held off adapting from the invaders was the use of pottery; pottery usage had largely died out in Ireland in the Iron Age.

If the site did in fact begin as a ringfort and later was redeveloped as a moated site, then it potentially could be of some considerable importance and interest. However, as yet we can say little for definite about it, as we know little in detail about these two possible phases and whether or not they represent continuity of occupation. We also as yet know little about the actual form of the sites and the features and structures they contained, their economic basis and relationships with the surrounding landscape.

The large and well-preserved grain-drying kiln excavated at the east end of Trench 1 dates to after the later ditch was filled in. It appears to stratigraphically post-date the (F13) layer that contained the late 13th-century coin but predated the abandonment of the site indicated by the development of the F11 sod layer.

The gradiometeric survey shows a ring of several other responses around the perimeter of the site, which are similar or larger in scale and intensity than that which marked the site of the kiln. On the ground, each appears to lie within a low mound where topsoil cover is thin and the underlying subsoil is partly exposed, perhaps suggesting the presence of other kilns or furnaces on the site.

The site or something in the area was referred to as a ‘market town’ in the mid-thirteenth century. What exactly this means is unclear. The form and economic basis of early Anglo-Norman towns are well known but as yet we don’t have any native-established towns of the period for comparison. The fragment of sheet bronze found evidences bronze working being undertaken on the site and combined with the coin and awl found, suggests the site had some status. A silver penny of the same date and type was found in monastery established by the MacDermots on Trinity Island (Clyne 2005). The presence of the large grain-drying kiln and the possible presence of other kilns/furnaces/ovens on the site might suggest the site was at least partly occupied by several small-scale industries, which one would might perhaps expect to find in a ‘market town’.

Trench 2 revealed only one small pit and a stake-hole, both of indeterminate date in the interior of the site. A number of channels from tree roots were also present. The ground in the lower lying eastern half of the trench was somewhat waterlogged, which might suggest good conditions for preservation. It is impossible to determine if this area is typical of the condition of the rest of interior and further work will be required to establish this.

Reference:
Clyne, M. 2005. 'Archaeological Excavations at Holy Trinity Abbey, Lough Key, Co. Roscommon' in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Section C 105C(-1):23-98.

thomas.finan@slu.edu