Graveyard

The National Monuments Service's description

A subrectangular enclosure (21m E-W; 20m N-S) on a S-facing slope surrounding St. Brigid’s church (CL029-009006-) and named ‘Graveyard’ on the 1920 OS 6-inch map. Defined by a roughly coursed, mortared wall (at W: int. H 0.66m; Wth 0.83m; ext. H 1m) with a round-headed entrance (Wth 0.73m; H 1.73m) midway along the S wall with a simple moulding inside. Before excavation in 1970-71 it was defined at W, N and E by an earthen bank with some stone. Excavation took place here from 1970 to 1972 and revealed that the enclosure had been repaired and rebuilt several times with a drystone wall forming the last in a series of enclosing features. Paving inside the wall was associated with the making of stations or rounds. No burials were found within the enclosure. A deep V-shaped fosse along the N sector and a broad shallow fosse at E were considered to be features of an early phase of activity on the island. A hazel sample from the fill of the enclosure fosse at N yielded radiocarbon dates of Cal AD 992-1150 (UBA-27540)(Seaver and O'Sullivan 2015, 12-13, 33). Fragments of two bone combs from the fill date to AD c. 1050-1125 (ibid., 13). The building of St. Mary’s church (CL029-009008-) c. 30m to the S very early in the 13th century involved the construction of the mortared stone wall which now forms the S boundary of the enclosure. A copper-working furnace (CL029-009128-) was found within the enclosure just W of the doorway of St. Brigid’s church and there was evidence of iron-working (CL029-009129-) within the enclosure immediately N of the church. Further metalworking evidence (CL019-009130-) was revealed outside the enclosure to the W. Iniscealtra is a national monument in state care, no. 5. (De Paor 1970; 1971; 2013, 28, 31-6)

Revised by: Mary Tunney

Date of revision: 18 July 2016

References

de Paor †, L. 2013 Inis Cealtra: Archaeological investigations of the monuments on the island. North Munster Antiquarian Journal 53, 27-78.

De Paor, L. 1971 1971:10 – Inishcaltra (Holy Island), Clare. http://www.excavations.ie/report/1971/Clare/0000074/. Accessed 13 October 2015.

De Paor, L. 1970 1970:06 – Inishcaltra (Holy Island), Clare. http://www.excavations.ie/report/1970/Clare/0000004/. Accessed 13 October 2015.

Seaver, M. and O'Sullivan, A. 2015 Report on the Iniscealtra post excavation project for the Royal Irish Academy 2015. Excavation no. E180. Early Medieval Archaeology Project, School of Archaeology, University College Dublin.