County: Offaly Site name: Clonmacnoise
Sites and Monuments Record No.: OF005-027001 Licence number: E004961
Author: Donald Murphy
Site type: Monastic site
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 600883m, N 730671m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.326293, -7.986745
It was proposed to carry out test trenching and monitoring at Clonmacnoise monastic site within the existing car parking area in advance of improvement works. The monastic site at Clonmacnoise is a National Monument (No. 81) in the ownership of the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The work was undertaken in January 2019, under Licence E004961, Consent C000843 and Detection Licence R000476.
This investigation exposed a number of archaeological features. These included a large ditch which is thought to represent a part of the ditch that once defined the monastic enclosure (OF005-027001), as well as parts of two other smaller ditches, and elements of possible medieval road surfaces. A hearth, a pit and a shallow spread were also documented. Dateable artefactual evidence was scarce, but a sherd of medieval pottery was recovered from a possible cultural horizon. A worked antler tine and some iron and bone fragments were also recovered.
A total of 14 test trenches were excavated within the area to be impacted upon by the construction of the new car park and related works. The trenches were excavated to a maximum depth of c.1.2m. No archaeological features, deposits or structures were seen within Trenches 4, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 14, while Trenches 1, 2, 6, 11 and 12 revealed a number of archaeological features. Trenches 3, 5 and 7 revealed a number of cultivation features.
A large ditch C17 was identified in Trench 2, running north-west/south-east. Ditch C17 measured c. 5.5m in width. This is thought likely to represent part of the enclosure ditch around the monastic site, as seen in previous excavations at Clonmacnoise. Two further ditches, C6 and C12, were identified in Trenches 1, 12, and 6. These ditches were running roughly parallel to one another, and each measured 1.2m in width with depths of between 0.2m and 0.4m. Trench 11 was disturbed to a great degree by a modern service trench, however where it was intact some possible archaeological deposits were identified. These consisted of C21, a cultural horizon containing some bone fragments, a worked antler tine as well as a sherd of high medieval pottery, and two deposits, C22 and C23, which may represent former road surfaces, potentially of medieval date. C22 and C23 may represent elements of successive roads leading in to the Clonmacnoise complex.
Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit, Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co Louth
