County: Wexford Site name: Clone
Sites and Monuments Record No.: WX015-023002- and WX015-023001- Licence number: 19E0766
Author: Denis Shine, Irish Archaeology Field School
Site type: Early medieval monastery (multi-period)
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 701355m, N 647389m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.568355, -6.504882
Community focused excavations were undertaken in the field surrounding Clone Church, Clone townland in Co. Wexford in December 2019. Clone Church, located 2.5km outside of Ferns village, is in the ownership of the Office of Public Works (OPW) and is a recorded monument (WX015-023002-(graveyard) and WX015-023001- (church)) protected under the National Monuments Acts. The excavations were funded by both the Ancient Connections Project/Wexford County Council and the private resources of the Irish Archaeology Field School (IAFS).
The main agenda for the excavation and associated works in 2019 was to:
a) investigate geophysical anomalies identified at the site in October 2019 (and previously identified at the site during a drone flyover in 2018);
b) clarify if Clone Church is surrounded by a monastic enclosure(s);
c) if possible, date these features, through the retrieval of organic materials or artefacts, including through metal detecting the soil (19R0274); and
d) engage the local community from Ferns and surrounds in a community excavation – bringing the site of Clone to the centre of local public consciousness.
Excavations were concluded in one week (from December 9 – 14) when two cuttings were opened, dug, assessed and backfilled. Both cuttings were found to contain multiple archaeological features. In Cutting 1 a ditch (and associated fills) – interpreted as the outer monastic enclosure – was recorded, in addition to two furrows and an area of burning. In Cutting 2 a second ditch (and associated fills) – interpreted as the inner monastic enclosure – was exposed, in addition to two further ‘ditch’ features of indeterminate function, as well as a single furrow. Each of the ditch features was originally identified at the site during geophysical surveys by Ian Elliott of Irish Geophysical and Archaeological Services (IGAS) in October 2019 (License no. 19R0238).
All features were devoid of artefacts with recovered finds consisting only of a single bodysherd of Leinster Cooking ware and a broken slate roof tile, both of which were recovered from topsoil. The results of radiometric dates, on charcoal received from the ditch fills, is currently pending. When these are received the results of the excavation will be prepared into a final report and published in a suitable journal(s).
The excavations were undertaken within the context of a larger research project, entitled ‘Discovering St Aidan’s Monastery’. This project is a component of major new heritage initiative being jointly developed by the IAFS, Wexford County Council, and the local community, which will see an international field school commence at St Mary’s Abbey, in nearby Ferns, in 2021.
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