2019:130 - 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 3.6m in height (though they were probably higher originally). Its entrance, like that of most ringforts, faces east. An international field school has been established to undertake research excavation of the cashel.

The initial excavation of 2019, Cutting J, was located in the south-west quadrant of the cashel interior. The roughly quadrant-shaped cutting covered approximately 80m2, the exact area depending on the curvature of the cashel wall. It measured a maximum of 12m long by a maximum of 9m wide. Prior to excavation, the chance of recovering evidence from the earlier occupation layers of the cashel was thought to be strong here, due to the apparent depth of stratigraphy trapped beneath stone tumbled from the cashel wall. This part of the interior, due to its sheltered nature from prevailing south-westerly winds, might also have seen early activity though, before excavation, no features were visible. A secondary target, Cutting K, was located inside the north-east wall of the cashel, to complete excavation of this part of the enclosure interior. This ‘L’-shaped cutting covered approximately 50m2, with maximum dimensions of 10m by 10m. The final part of the cashel interior to be excavated was Cutting L.A – a return to an unfinished part of Cutting A from 2010, and its extension to meet the northern edge of Cutting B from 2011. This measured 5m east-west by 3m. In addition, two previously un-excavated slabs from the entrance path located in Cutting D were raised and excavation of the area completed. The 2019 season completes the excavation of the cashel interior.

Previously identified phases of human activity within the cashel were once again encountered, however Cutting J had been cleared to bedrock across most of the cutting in the last century or two, leaving little trace of early occupation outside of some hollows or quarried features in the bedrock. Cutting L.A simply confirmed the basic sequence of layers uncovered in previous seasons. Cutting K, however, added a 10th-century cereal-drying kiln, the partial remains of an 11th-14th-century rectangular stone structure, and a small circular (or possibly open sided) 15th/16th-century structure. Artefacts were numerous in Cutting K, though far fewer in number in the other two cuttings. They included quern fragments, whetstones, anvil stones, hammer and rubbing stones, chert and flint lithics, iron nails, knives, arrowhead, a horse-bit link, bronze dress pins, bone combs, a glass bead, an amber stud, and a pen made of bone/antler and bronze.

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:

PHASE 1: A small mound covering two cists. The cashel wall had been built over the top of it, with half of the mound inside the cashel interior, the other half beneath the cashel wall. Late 6th – early 7th century AD.

PHASE 2: A fire-pit quarried into the bedrock, produced a 7th-century AD date.

PHASE 3: This phase is marked by the levelling off of the uneven ground surface and the construction of Caherconnell cashel. Late 10th-century date.

PHASE 4: Early occupation of the cashel, marked by a habitation layer, post-settings, a curvilinear house, an ironworking area, a probable non-ferrous metalworking structure/workshop, and an extensive domestic midden. 2019 added a cereal-drying kiln. 10th-11th-century date for this phase.

PHASE 5: Middle occupation of the cashel. A slab surface was laid down inside the cashel and occupation material accumulated on top of this. A stone setting for a post and two burnt deposits were uncovered as part of this surface. Also relevant are a straight-walled house with hearth and associated deposits, three post-holes and a path leading to the house entrance, a pathway and lengths of wall, an external hearth, and a secondary domestic structure with external fire-pit to its east. No new features of this date were uncovered in 2019. 10th-11th-century date.

PHASE 6: Late occupation of the cashel. Phase 6 saw the laying of a new slab surface, and the build-up of occupation material on top of it. Features include a hearth and two paths, the continued use of the straight-walled house from Phase 5 and its entrance path, a possible small structure just inside the west wall of the cashel, complete with hearth and post-settings. The secondary domestic structure built in Phase 5 continued in use in Phase 6. Also relevant are a couple of external hearths, a rock-cut pit, and the gable end of another rectangular structure located at the opposite side of the cashel from that excavated in 2016/2018. 11th-14th century AD.

PHASE 7: Final phase of occupation within the cashel. A new entrance was inserted, and a rectangular house built inside the north wall of the cashel. The previous straight-walled house was demolished, with much of its stone probably used to build a wall dividing the cashel interior in two. This wall was probably designed to separate the human and animal occupants of the cashel. The possible remains of a small structure were uncovered in 2018, and 2019’s Cutting K added a small circular or open-sided structure to activity of this date. The phase dates to the 15th-16th century, possibly into the start of the 17th.

PHASE 8: 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. This phase dates from the 17th century to the early 20th century.

Archaeology, NUI Galway