House - 16th/17th century

The National Monuments Service's description

On a gentle S-facing slope in pasture, within a settlement cluster (CL009-167----) which is itself within an extensive multiperiod field system (CL009-059001-). This house (int. dims. 7.1m E-W; 4.2m N-S; ext. dims. 8.9m E-W; 5.8m N-S) was excavated in 1990 as part of a University of California at Berkeley research project, led by Sinéad Ní Ghabhláin (1991). The house is defined by double-faced stone walls (Wth 0.9m) bonded by mortar. The outer wall-face incorporates well-dressed limestone blocks. The wall core is made of rubble. There is a doorway (Wth 0.95m) in the centre of the S wall. There may have been another entrance directly opposite this, in the middle of the N wall, where a gap in the masonry was noted during excavation. There is a room (4.2m N-S; 1.9m E-W) in the W interior, partitioned from the rest of the house by a N-S wall (Wth 0.4m) with a doorway (Wth 0.7m) 1.1m from its N end. There is a hearth feature in the E wall. Large amounts of animal bone, domestic material and artefacts dating to the 17th century were recovered (see also FitzPatrick 2009). The house is situated within an oval enclosure (diam. 13.5m) defined by the collapsed and grass-covered remains of a stone wall. During excavation a thick grey/white sterile deposit was found under the house, which may have provided a level surface for the building's construction. Another occupation layer was exposed in an excavation trench under the W part of the house. No structural remains were found in this section. However, there was evidence for burning, as well as domestic material and a tiny polished bone die (7mm per side) decorated with dot-and-circle motifs. This is identical to dice found in Dublin, which have been dated to the 13th century (Ní Ghabhláin 1991).

The medieval church of Noughaval (CL009-059023-) lies c. 70m to the NW, within a graveyard (CL009-059024-). A holy well (CL009-059026-) lies c. 84m to the NNE.

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Conn Herriott

Date of upload: 6 July 2022

References

Ní Ghabhláin, S. 1992 Excavation of house site at Noughaval, Co. Clare, interim report. Unpublished report submitted to the National Monuments Service. Licence no. E000567.

Ní Ghabhláin, S. 1991 Noughaval, house site. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 1990: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 15. Bray. Wordwell.

FitzPatrick, E. 2009 Native enclosed settlement and the problem of the Irish 'ring-fort'. Medieval Archaeology 53, 271–307.