Early Medieval Archaeology Project (EMAP)

i The Early Medieval Archaeology Project (EMAP): Project Report 2012 The Archaeology of Industrial Activity on Secular Sites in Early Medieval Ireland, AD 400-1100. By Thomas Kerr, Maureen Doyle, Matt Seaver, Finbar McCormick & Aidan O'Sullivan Early Medieval Archaeology Project (EMAP 2) Report 6:1 December 2012 Report submitted for: Irish National Strategic Archaeological Research (INSTAR) programme 2012 Ref: AR03534 ii Forward EMAP Report 6.1 deals with the archaeological evidence for industrial activity on secular sites in early medieval Ireland. It is comprised of four main sections. The first section provides a general overview of the creation of the report, including general distribution maps and histograms. The archaeological evidence for industrial activity is covered in fuller detail in sections two and three. Section 2, prepared by Matt Seaver, examines the evidence in greater depth for specific industrial activity, namely iron-working, non-ferrous metal-working, glass- working, and antler/bone-working. This is accompanied by comprehensive tables outlining the site evidence for the major industrial activities. Section 3, prepared by Maureen Doyle, looks at the production of items of personal ornamentation and decoration. Rather than adopting a single-material approach, this section examines the production of different types of artefact. Thus ‘pins’ are discussed together, whether they were made of bone, antler, bronze or iron, since they performed a similar function. The final section consists of a site gazetteer of industrial activity in early medieval Ireland. This includes over 300 secular sites, and contains substantial tables outlining the evidence for craft activity, as well as the types of artefacts recovered from the site. Much of the evidence for industrial activity in the gazetteer is derived from reports which have not been fully published, i.e. the large body of ‘grey literature’ that has emerged during the last two decades. The investigation of industrial activity shows that certain early medieval secular site-types produced more evidence than others. It also suggests that there was a hierarchy of industrial activity, with perceived high status sites producing more prestigious materials – such as non- ferrous metals or glass. There is also a suggestion of a degree of regional patterning, most clearly indicated by the distribution of shale-working sites, but also possibly influential in the location of iron-working sites. The findings indicate that secular sites played a substantial role in early medieval craft and industry, a fact that is often overlooked due to a focus on the production-levels of ‘monastic towns’, and latterly, Hiberno-Norse settlements. The authors would like to thank all those excavators and specialists whose reports are referred to prior to their final publication and especially the Heritage Council (INSTAR) which financed the project. iii Table of Contents Section 1: An Overview of the 2012 Report 1 Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Section 2: Early Medieval Craft-Working 23 Chapter 2: Early Medieval Iron-Working 23 Chapter 3: Early Medieval Non-Ferrous Metal-Working 42 Chapter 4: Early Medieval Glass-, Enamel- and Milliefiori-Working 55 Chapter 5: Early Medieval Bone- and Antler-Working 59 Chapter 6: Early Medieval Stone-Working 66 Appendix 1: Tables 72 Section 3: Early Medieval Crafts and the Manufacture and 103 Use of Dress and Ornament Chapter 7: Early Medieval Dress and Ornament 103 Chapter 7: Textile Manufacture on Rural Settlement Sites 120 Appendix 2: Summary of Textile-working 144 Bibliography 147 Section 4: Gazetteer of industrial activity on early medieval secular sites (separate volume) iv Section 1: An Overview of the 2012 Report Chapter 1: Introduction Interpretations of the landscape of early medieval Ireland have changed over the decades, driven partly by the changing zeitgeist of historical theory, and partly by the archaeological record. While the predominantly rural focus of life in Ireland during the latter part of the first millennium has been well-discussed, the impact of industry on the every-day life of the inhabitants has had less coverage. It is clear that Viking towns were centres of industry (e.g. Wallace 1987), but the locations of native centres of activity are less studied. ‘Monastic towns’ (sensu Doherty 1985; Valente 1998; Swift 1998) fulfil many of these roles, and recent excavations on the ecclesiastical site of Clonfad, Co. Westmeath (Stevens & Channing 2012) and Armoy, Co. Antrim (Nellis et al. 2007), for example, revealed large-scale production of specialised metal-work (e.g. bells), and 1,300 pieces of shale-working debitage respectively. The importance of typical secular sites, however, has often been overshadowed by a small number of urban and ‘proto-urban’ sites which have produced large amounts of evidence for industrial activity. This report, therefore, will examine the role of industry and craft on secular occupation sites. The ability to distinguish between early medieval ‘secular’ and ‘ecclesiastical’ sites has, however, become increasingly blurred as a result of the excavation boom of the early 2000s. The discovery of numerous ‘cemetery-settlements’/‘settlement-cemeteries’/ ‘secular- cemeteries’ (e.g. Johnstown, Co. Meath (Clarke & Carlin 2008) or Raystown, Co. Meath (Seaver 2010)) during roadworks in the first decade of the twenty-first century make it very difficult to distinguish between a site which is solely ‘secular’ and one which is solely ‘religious’ in nature. While Conleth Manning’s excavations at Moyne, Co. Mayo (1987) and Killederdadrum, Co. Tipperary (1984) argued that certain ecclesiastical sites may have originated as secular enclosures, this was partially based on the development of graveyards at these sites. It is now increasingly clear that a formal burial ground at an early medieval site does not necessarily constitute a change in function to a church site, nor can it be taken to imply the presence of a church on site. Rather, it seems that burial beside and alongside the living was a regular practice through much of Ireland until at least the eighth or ninth century. The industrial activity and associated finds from obviously ecclesiastical sites such as Armagh, Clonmacnoise or Reask have not been discussed here, however, similar activity from the pre-ecclesiastical phases on possible church sites, such as Dunmisk, Co. Tyrone (Ivens 1989) or Kilgobbin, Co Dublin (Bolger 2008) have been included. Similarly the findings from ‘settlement-cemetery’ sites have been included, but, where possible, these have been restricted to occupation evidence and have not included grave-goods associated with burials. After eight or nine decades of systematic archaeology in Ireland, there are noticeable changes in the way in which craft-working and small finds have been recorded. Early excavation reports, such as those by S. P. Ó Ríordáin of University College Cork, or H. O’N. Hencken of the Harvard Archaeological Mission, tended to focus heavily on the finds recovered from site. This artefact-heavy approach was a product of the contemporary archaeological tradition, which was dominated by typologies. By identifying specific artefacts to a sub-type level, it was possible to work out relative, or even absolute, chronologies for these various sites. The development of radiocarbon dating, however, shifted the focus away from artefacts to ecofacts and other material which could be sampled for the dating process. Archaeology in Ireland had also shifted away from the multi-season excavation on a headline site, towards an attempt to understand the wider archaeological landscape. This led to attempts to create settlement models, by examining the locations of sites in relation to the local typography and to each other, and also was associated with palaeoecological studies which tried to understand the ancient environment and climate. A mixture of preservation issues and the generally aceramic nature of the larger part of the island meant that such studies could add 1 value to excavation reports far beyond that available from the description of yet another blue-glass bead or corroded knife blade. As a result of this change in focus, artefact studies (and the concomitant study of craft and industry) became increasingly marginalised in report publications. Where once papers have consisted largely of descriptions of finds (for example over 60% of Ó Ríordáin’s paper on the Lough Gur excavations dealt with the finds (1948- 50)), the appendices now were filled with animal bone reports, human bone reports and radiocarbon dates. The sheer volume of material produced from the National Roads Authority excavations, however, meant that artefact studies became both increasingly viable and necessary. Many of these specialists were employees of the excavating company, and thus their reports were limited in scale and scope to those sites excavated by that specific company. Others were external experts recruited for a specific contract, who may have had no previous experience of Irish archaeological material. These factors mean that there is a danger that certain regional patterns may be the product of the preferences, experiences or expectations of the post-excavation process, rather than reflecting any ‘actual’ pattern. One of the clearest examples of this possible bias is the identification of isolated early medieval charcoal production pits in Co. Meath along the route of the M3 (e.g. Kenny 2010). This cluster should not be taken to imply that this area held

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