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Offaly<br />

Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly<br />

Early Medieval Ecclesiastical Enclosure.<br />

Grid Ref: N011308 (20110/23080)<br />

SMR No: OF005-004; OF005-058.<br />

Excavation Licence: E000181; E000558; 93E0086; 93E0123; 95E0231; 97E0243;<br />

99E0715; 02E1407<br />

Excavation Duration/Year: July – August 1979; 1989-1990; 1990 – 1998; 1995; 1997<br />

– 1998; 1999-2000; 2002.<br />

Site Director: R. Ó Floinn (National Museum <strong>of</strong> Ireland); C. Manning (OPW); H. King<br />

(National Monuments and Historic Properties Service, Dúchas); A. O’Sullivan<br />

(Management for Archaeology Underwater Ltd.) & D. Boland (Management for<br />

Archaeology Underwater Ltd.); D. Murphy (Archaeological Consultant Services<br />

Ltd.)<br />

<strong>The</strong> monastery is situated on the east side <strong>of</strong> the Shannon at a crossing point <strong>of</strong> the major<br />

east-west route-way, the Slighe Mhor, itself located on the Eiscir Riadda (Central Ridge) <strong>of</strong><br />

Ireland. <strong>The</strong> site is linked with St. Ciaran, who may have founded the earliest church there c.<br />

A.D. 545. <strong>The</strong> site borders the three over-kingdoms <strong>of</strong> Connaught, Munster and the Southern<br />

Uí Néill. Although kings <strong>of</strong> Connaught took an interest in Clonmacnoise from an early date,<br />

the site had fallen within the control <strong>of</strong> the Chlann Cholmain dynasty <strong>of</strong> the Southern Uí Neill<br />

by the ninth century. This period saw a concentrated phase <strong>of</strong> patronage at the site including<br />

the construction <strong>of</strong> the cathedral and the erection <strong>of</strong> the ‘Cross <strong>of</strong> Scriptures’ in the earlytenth<br />

century. <strong>The</strong> ruins <strong>of</strong> the ecclesiastical site include the cathedral, seven churches, two<br />

round towers, six high crosses, a holy well and the largest collection <strong>of</strong> early medieval crossslabs<br />

in Ireland. Although an Anglo-Norman castle was built to the west <strong>of</strong> the ecclesiastical<br />

site, the main crossing point <strong>of</strong> the River Shannon moved upstream to Athlone in the<br />

medieval period and Clonmacnoise became a relatively quiet and unspoilt archaeological<br />

landscape for the next eight centuries.<br />

Recent field- and under-water survey, geophysics and above all excavation have uncovered<br />

extensive evidence for enclosing boundaries, structures, paved roads, surfaces, industrial and<br />

agricultural features and an underwater bridge, all dating from the seventh to twelfth century<br />

(Fig. 269). Excavations on the sites <strong>of</strong> three high crosses within the innermost ecclesiastical<br />

precincts have uncovered settlement evidence dating from the seventh century prior to the<br />

use <strong>of</strong> the area as a burial-ground (King 1993:186; 1994:196). Further excavations to the<br />

west at the Steeple Gardens (Visitor Centre), northeast (New Graveyard) and northwest (on<br />

the sloping ground from the Visitor Centre to the River Shannon banks) <strong>of</strong> the medieval<br />

ecclesiastical core produced significant evidence for three phases <strong>of</strong> early medieval habitation<br />

and industry (Manning 1989:078, 1990:096; King 2009, 335-36, 1992b). Underwater<br />

excavations to the northwest <strong>of</strong> the site has revealed a bridge dated to A.D. 804 (O’Sullivan &<br />

Boland 1998, 2000) and further investigations to the southwest near St. Ciaran’s National<br />

School has uncovered an enclosing monastic ditch (Murphy 2003) and a Hiberno-<br />

Scandinavian coin hoard along with industrial features (Ó Floinn and King 1998). Geophysical<br />

investigations in the fields surrounding the site in the mid 1990s suggest that an extensive<br />

area was settled – in some places intensively – in the early medieval period (Mytum 2003,<br />

56). An area to the southeast <strong>of</strong> the ‘New Graveyard’ has produced almost no stratified<br />

archaeology. It has been described as the ‘Fair Green’ on the earliest OS maps and may have<br />

been the possible location <strong>of</strong> the great fairs <strong>of</strong> Clonmacnoise (King 2009, 345). Local tradition<br />

and aerial photography indicate the possible presence <strong>of</strong> a mill-race to the east and southeast<br />

<strong>of</strong> the site (King 2009, 336).<br />

<strong>The</strong> earliest settlement evidence at Clonmacnoise has been uncovered within the main<br />

original cathedral burial ground. Here, the removal <strong>of</strong> three crosses – the ‘Cross <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Scriptures’ (West Cross) and the ‘South Cross’ in 1991 and 1992 (King 1992c, 1994:196) and<br />

the ‘North Cross’ in the summer <strong>of</strong> 1993 (Manning 1990:096, 1992; King 1993:186) –<br />

revealed that the area to the west <strong>of</strong> the cathedral may have been initially used for<br />

601

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