House - early medieval

The National Monuments Service's description

In reclaimed pasture, in W quadrant of an archaeological complex (LI048-034006/042-) located on the 'Supposed Site of Temaír Erann', which was the ancient cemetery of the Ernai tribe on Slievereagh (Sliabh Riabhach) (Westropp 1919, 9; Westropp 1917-19, 179; Westropp 1918, 111). House Site 'f' located in N quadrant of western field, excavated cist (LI048-034015-) 15m to N, 3 bowl-barrows (LI048-034010-/012-) lie 40m to NE, group of ringforts (LI048-034025-/027-) in field to E. Early medieval circular-shaped 'house site f' excavated by Ó Ríordáin (1940, 121-124) between 1934-5 and described as following; ‘House f was similar to House a (located in ringfort LI048-034025-) in having a compacted clay and gravel floor but of a quality inferior to that in House a. The general construction of the two houses was similar, since each was evidently constructed in the main of a perishable material, the lower parts of the walls being of stone. There is a striking similarity in plan between House a and House f, the lower portion of the floor of the former house corresponding to the sunken area (referred to below) in the latter. House f was, however, approximately circular in plan while House a was more nearly rectangular. The diameter of the main part of House f was about 13 feet [3.96m]. Many of the stones around House f were thick slabs which either still stood upright (like the stones found around House a) or had fallen in such a way as to suggest that they had once been set on edge. On the southern side of the floor was a narrow sunken space or passage, between tow low walls, the bottom of which was 16 inches [0.4m] below the level of the floor. There was another wall south of that along the south side of the passage and parallel to it. The reason for this sunken area was not clear, nor was it quite definite that the walls on the south side of it were connected with this house and not with another, though, because we could not find any further remains of another house, we are inclined to think of them as belonging to this one. The sunken area was covered with a 3 inch [0.07m] layer of burnt whitish porous material which chemical examination performed in the Chemistry Department of University College, Cork, showed to have been chiefly composed of a rather sandy clay with a fragment of calcined bone embedded in it. The result of the chemical test, combined with the burnt appearance of the material, showed that this was the remains of the clay daub from the walls of what must have been a wattle-and-daub house. To the west of this house we found many holes of post-hole type but of much smaller diameter such as would be left from the stages of a wattle-structure. They were too numerous to be the result of a single building and there must, therefore, have been successive houses on the site. In one of the stake holes we got the three flint arrow-heads described among the “finds” and in one of the post-holes was found the single arrow-head and a fragment of flint. To the south of this group of stage-holes was a hollow lined with stones at the edge. It was 7 feet [2.13m] long, 3 feet [0.9m] wide and almost 3 feet [0.9m] deep, and may have been a storage pit’. No surface remains visible of excavated house site.

See attached plans and photos taken from Ó Ríordáin.

Compiled by: Fiona Rooney

Date of upload: 31 August 2021

References

Ó Ríordáin, S.P. 1940 Excavations at Cush, Co. Limerick (1934 and 1935). Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 45, 83-181.

Westropp, T.J. 1918 Temair Erann, an Ancient Cemetery of the Ernai on Slievereagh, County Limerick. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquities of Ireland, 111-20.

Westropp, T.J. 1917-19 The Earthworks, Traditions, and the Gods of South-Eastern Co. Limerick, Especially from Knocklong to Temair Erann. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature 34, 127-183.

Westropp, T.J. 1919 The ancient places of assembly in the counties Limerick and Clare. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 49, 1-24.