Enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a gentle E-facing slope. Archaeological testing (18E0526) during September 2018 in advance of development identified extensive archaeological features including the ditch of the ecclesiastical enclosure (WX015-003031-) of the early monastery of St. Máedóg. Attached to the ecclesiastical enclosure on the inside is a rectangular enclosure (int. dims 50m NW-SE; 33-40m NE-SW) defined by substantial ditches (Wth of top 3m; max. D 2.25m), but there is no evidence of accompanying banks. The basal deposit was silt (T 0.3m) with some charcoal, and a sample of hazel from this produced a C14 date of cal. AD 685-873, which means it is contemporary with the ditch of the ecclesiastical enclosure. The ditches may have been cleaned out on a few occasions but it was finally backfilled as a single event. There is an entrance causeway (Wth 2.6m) at the SE, and a rectangular structure (dims c. 10m NW-SE; c. 6m NE-SW) is in the interior. This is a collection of pits and post-holes as well as a hearth, but its SW side had been truncated by modern features. No pottery or artefacts were recovered from the enclosure or the structure, and no animal bones survived in the soil. Part of the ditch at SE will be preserved in situ together with most of the basal deposits from the ditches. (McLoughlin 2020a, 2020b)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 18 November 2020

References

McLoughlin, C. 2020b Preliminary Archaeological Excavation Report, Castleland, Ferns, Co. Wexford. Licence: 18E0526. Unpublished report, Stafford/McLoughlin

McLoughlin, C. 2020a From early to late: uncovering medieval Ferns. Archaeology Ireland, 132, vol. 34, No. 2, 30-4.