2016:486 - Seven Churches, Glendalough, Wicklow

Excavations were carried out at Seven Churches, Glendalough 2014-16 by the School of Archaeology, University College Dublin taught field school and latterly including a separate component of community-led excavation at the lower lake. UCD School of Archaeology have been investigating the Glendalough wider complex since 2009 at charcoal platforms and at the Upper Lake (Warren et al. 2012, McDermott et al. 2011) focussing in 2014 on the main monastic complex.

A 3 by 2.2m cutting, Trench 10, was excavated on the linear feature known as the Pattern Bank to the west of the stone gatehouse into the monastic complex in 2014-15. This was potentially an original boundary feature of the monastic complex. This feature is on a steep slope above the stream and roadway to the upper lake. It had been damaged during graveyard cleaning and needed to be reinstated. On behalf of the National Monuments Service, UCD school of Archaeology undertook an investigation of the area over two seasons. This uncovered a thin deposit of vegetation and humus overlying several large schist slabs and smaller granite stones which had partially slipped down the slope. This overlay deposits of colluvium containing an unworked flint fragment which sat on the boulder clay. Small samples of animal bone recovered were retained for radiocarbon dating. The deposits overlying the stones contained sherds of Leinster Cooking Ware, a quartz blade and two flint fragments. The bank was stabilised and fully reinstated after excavation. The excavation concluded that the bank was the result of a collapsed stone boundary feature. The date of this feature is unclear.

The field west of the round tower was subject to a series of geophysical surveys in 2011- 2016 (Elliot 2011, Elliot et al. 2014, Dowling 2016). It is a large field currently used for pasture which is relatively level up to an area east of the round tower where it slopes steadily downwards into the flood plain of the river which forms the southern boundary of the complex. This revealed that the field has a substantial number of anomalies including a linear north-south ditch, a potential large rectangular north-south aligned structure and a series of north-west/south-east anomalies in the northern part of the field thought to be ditches. Trench 12 was excavated in 2011 and was aligned east-west to intersect potential north-wes/south-east ditches. The trench measured 12m in length by 2m. Two north-south anomalies were tentatively interpreted as ditches corresponding with the geophysical anomalies. The western example was identified in plan only as a band of dark grey silty clay and time and weather did not allow for further investigation. Similarly, the eastern example was not excavated but measured 1.5m in width and was truncated by east-west furrows.

Trench 11 was aligned east-west to investigate a 7.5-8m wide linear geophysical anomaly which ran the length of the field and a rectilinear anomaly indicating a possible structure. The trench was expanded over three seasons to 25m east-west by 5m. Post-medieval plough furrows trending north-south were excavated at regular intervals. The earliest feature at the west of the trench was an oval metalled depression, 0.16m in depth, exposed in a 1m narrow sondage. This was covered by a B-horizon of clayey silt with frequent charcoal, 0.1-0.25m in thickness. The deposit contained flint flakes, chunks and a petit-tranchet arrowhead. This deposit was in turn cut by six post-holes up to 0.27m in depth and 0.25-0.28m in width covered by two irregular areas of metalling. The large ditch was defined by a stone revetment, 1.1m in depth, built from evenly coursed drystone schist blocks. The deposits filling the trench were charcoal-rich sandy silts alternating with cleaner sandy silt deposits.

These deposits contained sherds of Dublin Type Ware, Leinster Cooking Ware and smaller quantities of imported pottery along with iron nails and blades and iron slag. The ditch fills contained a gilt copper alloy chip carved mount of 8th-9th century date and a late 10th-century Hiberno-Norse coin. These important artefacts indicate that a powerful connection linked ecclesiastical elites at Glendalough with Hiberno-Norse culture in complex ways from the 9th century onwards.

A channel of deposits 1m in width separated the eastern revetment from a stone platform. These deposits were charcoal-rich clayey silts alternating with cleaner sandy deposits. These stone platforms were built from roughly built schist walls containing large granite field stones with occasional schist blocks. This structure was 1.8m in width. This was separated by a further channel containing deposits of coarse sands and gravels.

The western edge of the ditch was defined by a further stone platform comprising two schist walls retaining rounded granite stones and schist blocks 1.2m in width. The base of the ditch was exposed in two sondage trenches which suggest that the large ditch is flat bottomed.

A further large ditch of 13th-century date was located in an unrelated archaeological assessment carried out to the north-east of our excavations closer to the river (Whitty and Melander 2016). To the east of the ditch two heavily truncated scorched areas are possibly the base of a cereal-drying kiln. Substantial quantities of charred cereal grains were uncovered from flotation of samples of this deposit. The scorching activity appeared to have burnt the stones at the top of the revetment.

To the east of the burnt deposits were nine large post-holes extending over an area of 8m by 5m. They were between 0.45-0.65m in depth and 0.4m in diameter. Four of these post-holes were lined with schist slabs. The area also contained five substantial pits. The pits and post-holes contained charcoal flecked deposits but no artefacts. A single radiocarbon date calibrated to 651-866 Cal AD (UBA-30034, 2 Sigma) was obtained from hazel charcoal from a larger post-hole. The post-holes and pits were covered by a deposit or low bank of schist blocks with dark charcoal-stained clayey silt containing sherds of medieval ceramic. Excavation will continue in 2017.

References:

Elliott I. 2011 Report on Archaeogeophysical Survey (Licence No. 11R103) at Sevenchurches or Camaderry Td. Ballinacor North By., Glendalough, Co. Wicklow.  Drung, Cavan, Irish Geophysical and Archaeological Surveys report no. 11#064.

Elliott I., McDermott C., Warren G. M. 2014 Geophysical Survey at Glendalough Monastic Site, Co. Wicklow. Glendalough Valley Archaeology Project Newsletter 3, UCD School of Archaeology.

McDermott, C., Warren, G., Ciuchini, P., Rice, K., 2011  'Archaeological excavations at Lugduff Townland, Upper Lake, Glendalough, Co. Wicklow 2011 : stratigraphic report.' University College Dublin. School of Archaeology, 2012-06. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4483.

Warren, G., McDermott, C., O'Donnell, L., Sands, R. 2012  'Recent Excavations of Charcoal Production Platforms in the Glendalough Valley, Co. Wicklow' in The Journal of Irish Archaeology, 21: 85-112

Whitty, Y. and Melander, A. 2016  'Archaeological Test Excavation and Assessment Report “Gods Cottage”, Glendalough, County Wicklow C000729, E004652, R000407', unpublished report for National Monuments Service and Wicklow County Council.

School of Archaeology, College of Law and Social Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.