EMAP_2012_Report_6_1.pdf (7.3 MB) - The Heritage Council

needle (ibid. 144-49). However, McErlean (2007a, 376) cautioned that this building might be
much later than the adjacent round houses in the middle enclosure and that many of these
artefacts may relate to an occupation layer below this building. Other finds from within and
around these buildings included lumps of iron slag, a copper-alloy ingot, clay moulds, stone
crucible stands and crucibles with nodules of bronze droppings (Bourke 2007, 407, 419)
suggesting ferrous and non-ferrous metal-working in the area (McErlean 2007a, 378).
3.5: Levels of metal-working
There is no apparent difference between the wealth and range of metal items being
manufactured on high status secular and ecclesiastical sites and finds and mould evidence
indicates that pins and brooches were the most common type of metal artefact produced on
both sites (Doyle infra, Section 3). Although religious items such as metal chalices and
crosiers were also undoubtedly manufactured on ecclesiastical sites, these were mostly
composite in nature and were formed largely of sheet metal, ornamented with separate
panels (Comber 2008, 147).
Comber (2008, 148-9) has divided the metal-working evidence from early medieval
settlements into three general levels of activity. A number of high status secular and
ecclesiastical settlements such as Carraig Aille, Garranes, Lagore, Moynagh Lough, Clogher,
Clonmacnoise, Armagh, Dunmisk and Dooey have revealed large quantities of metal-working
waste and finished items which may indicate the activities of a resident highly-trained cerd
working in a permanent workshop. This term could denote a silversmith or a goldsmith (Kelly
1988, 63). In contrast, other sites such as Lissue, Seacash, Rathmullan, Raheennamdra and
Tullylish have produced levels of minimal or low-levels of metal-working evidence. It is likely
that many of these smaller sites such as Reask had to rely on the talents of their own
communities or perhaps the seasonal work of an itinerant metalworker.
Like with the evidence for ferrous metal-working there are an even larger range of sites with
no evidence for non-ferrous metal working. While this is clearly sometimes the result of the
scale of investigation extensive excavations such as Raystown (Seaver 2009), Baronstown
(Linnane 2009) and Dowdstown (Cagney et al. 2009) had no evidence for non-ferrous metal
working. These communities must have engaged with other local centres to provide the
copper alloy objects found on these sites. Excavations and research in recent years has
added to the evidence summarised by Comber (2008) and others. The greatest level of
additional evidence pertains to sites at the lowest levels of non-ferrous metallurgy. Evidence
for the minimal level of non-ferrous metal working can be seen in the numbers of crucibles
present. Twenty four of the settlements with crucibles had two or less of them with many of
them only having a single example or fragment.
Sites such as Roestown (O’ Hara 2009a) and Deer Park farms (Bayley 2011) hint that there
may have been an intermediate level of non-ferrous metallurgy with a small workshop
occasionally used for this practice. Both sites have fragments of a small range of crucibles of
different types (three and four respectively), trial pieces and ingots but no moulds (Fig. 3.3).
Other specialist uses of bronze in the ironworking process are also coming to light. The
possibility of the use for crucibles in brazing iron objects as may have been the case with bell
production at Clonfad (Young 2009a) and Gortnahown 2 (Young 2009b) suggests that this
practice may have been more widespread. Both of these sites incorporate ceramic brazing
shrouds with fabric impressions also indicates that closer attention needs to be paid to fired
clay fragments on early medieval sites. Interestingly enigmatic clay fragments with fabric
impressions were also found at Cathedral Hill, Armagh and were termed crucibles at the time
(Gaskell-Brown & Harper 1984, 147-148) A fragment of a clay wrap probably used in the
brazing of iron objects was recently recognised at Deer Park farms (Bayley 2011, 348). To
this range of more recent sites we can add the coastal and estuarine sites which may have
had specialised purposes in assaying silver and other metals such as Dunnyneil (McCormick &
Macdonald 2004, 8, Young 2006a) along with the Viking trading/settlement site at
Woodstown 6 (Young 2006b).
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