The Archaeology of Medieval Ireland The Archaeology of Medieval Ireland T.B.BARRY First published in 1987 by Methuen & Co. Ltd First published in paperback in 1988 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. © 1987 T.B.Barry All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Barry, T.B. (Terence B.) The archaeology of medieval Ireland. 1. Ireland. Human settlements, ca 1000–ca 1500. Archaeological investigation I. Title 941.5 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Barry, Terence B. The archaeology of medieval Ireland/T.B.Barry. p. cm. Bibliography: p. Includes indexes. 1. Ireland—Antiquities. 2. Ireland—History—1172–1603. 3. Excavations (Archaeology)—Ireland. I. Title. DA920.B348 1988 936.1–dc19 88–14799 ISBN 0-203-40250-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-71074-6 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-01104-3 (pbk.) This book is dedicated to Eithne, Stephanie and Maeve, and to the memory of Lieutenant Terry Barry (1921–43) Contents List of figures ix List of plates xi Preface and acknowledgements xiii Abbreviations xv 1 Introduction 1 2 Pre-Norman settlement c.1000–1169 15 3 Anglo-Norman military fortifications 37 4 Anglo-Norman rural settlement 72 5 The growth of medieval towns 116 6 The archaeology of the medieval church 139 7 The later middle ages: growth or decline? 168 8 Future horizons 199 Notes 204 Bibliography 213 Manuscript sources 213 Printed sources 213 Secondary works 215 Place index 227 Subject and name index 234 vii Figures 1 Plan of ringfort at Garryduff I, Co. Cork (after O’Kelly 1962b) 17 2 Plan of Dunbeg promontory fort, Co. Kerry (Barry 1981a) 21 3 Souterrain at Dunbeg, Co. Kerry (Barry 1981a) 25 4 Distribution map of early ecclesiastical enclosures (after Swan 1983) 29 5 Map of Dublin city walls and NMI excavation sites (after Wallace 1985b) 31 6 Plan of four house plots of the eleventh century at Fishamble Street, Dublin (after Wallace 1985b) 33 7 Map of Waterford city walls and towers (courtesy of Waterford Corporation) 34 8 Distribution map of surviving mottes in 1973 (after Glasscock 1975) 39 9 Section of Rathmullan motte, Co. Down (after Lynn 1981–2) 42 10 Conjectural restoration of the house and tower at Lismahon, Co. Down (after Waterman 1959a) 43 11 Plan of top of motte at Clough Castle, Co. Down (after Waterman 1954a) 44 12 Plan of Trim Castle, Co. Meath, showing excavated area (after Sweetman 1978a) 47 13 Plan of Adare Castle, Co. Limerick, showing areas excavated by Sweetman in 1975 (after Leask 1973) 50 14 Distribution map of possible ringwork castles 52 15 Plan of Dundrum Castle, Co. Down (Crown Copyright.Reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office) 60 16 Plan of Roscommon Castle, Co. Roscommon (after Stalley 1971) 67 17 Plan of two medieval houses at Caherguillamore, Co. Limerick (after Ó Ríordáin and Hunt 1942) 73 ix x Figures 18 The deserted medieval town of Newtown Jerpoint, Co. Kilkenny, as shown on the first edition of the OS 6-inch map (1839) (Government of Ireland, permit no. 4690) 77 19 Tentative reconstruction of the earliest medieval house near Bourchier’s Castle, Lough Gur, Co. Limerick (after Cleary 1982) 82 20 Distribution map of rectangular earthworks (after Glasscock 1970) 86 21 Distribution map of moated sites (after Glasscock 1970) 88 22 Plan of Rigsdale moated site, Co. Cork (after Sweetman 1981) 90 23 Trim-ware pottery (after Sweetman 1978a) 101 24 Distribution map of medieval pavement-tiles (after Fanning 1981a) 102 25 Plan and elevation of Tullylish grain-drying kiln, Co. Down (Med. Archaeol. 1984) 104 26 Medieval shoes from Drogheda, Co. Louth (after Sweetman 1984) 107 27 Medieval timber-framed structure from High Street, Dublin (after Murray 1983) 112 28 Distribution map of medieval boroughs and markets (after Graham 1985) 119 29 Section of the medieval waterfront at Wood Quay, Dublin (after Wallace 1981b) 121 30 Map of the overseas trade of Drogheda, thirteenth to fifteenth centuries (after Bradley 1978) 135 31 Plan of Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth (after Stalley 1980) 146 32 Plan of Kells Priory, Co. Kilkenny (OPW) 152 33 Elevations of the church of the Franciscan friary, Armagh (after Lynn 1975b) 161 34 Plan of the fields associated with Clontuskert Priory, Co. Galway (after Fanning 1976) 165 35 Plan of Rinndown Castle and town, Co. Roscommon (after Bradley 1985c) 175 36 Map of the Pale in the fifteenth century (after Cosgrove 1981) 182 37 Interpretative tracing of Kilteel aerial photograph (pl. 21) (after Manning 1981–2) 186 38 Distribution map of tower houses (after O’Danachair 1977–9, Department of Irish Folklore, University College, Dublin) 187 39 Plan of St Mary’s Priory, Devenish, Co. Fermanagh (after Waterman 1979) 192 40 Plan of Quin Friary, Co. Clare (after Leask 1971) 194 Plates 1 Modern clachan at Lenankeel, Co. Donegal (photo: D.McCourt) 23 2 A conjectural reconstruction of the Early Christian enclosure at Reask, Co. Kerry (courtesy RIA; photo: T.Fanning) 27 3 The motte and bailey at Granard, Co. Longford, from the air (courtesy Committee for Aerial Photography, University of Cambridge; photo: J.K. St Joseph) 38 4 The motte at Hastings in the Bayeux Tapestry (courtesy Phaidon Press) 41 5 Carrickfergus Castle, Co. Antrim (photo: author) 55 6 Trim Castle, Co. Meath, from across the River Boyne (photo: author) 56 7 King John’s Castle, Carlingford, Co. Louth (photo: OPW) 58 8 The remaining western side of Carlow Castle (photo: OPW) 63 9 King John’s Castle, Limerick (photo: OPW) 65 10 Aerial photograph of a possible deserted medieval village or borough at Kiltinan, Co. Tipperary (courtesy Committee for Aerial Photography, University of Cambridge; photo: J.K. St Joseph) 75 11 Aerial photograph of Newtown Jerpoint, Co. Kilkenny (courtesy Committee for Aerial Photography, University of Cambridge; photo: J.K. St Joseph) 78 12 The moated site at Kilmagoura, Co. Cork, under excavation (courtesy Committee for Aerial Photography, University of Cambridge; photo: J.K. St Joseph) 89 13 The outer courtyard of Rothe House, Kilkenny (photo: OPW) 117 14 A modern wax impression from a lead seal matrix of Adam Burestone, High Street, Dublin (photo: NMI) 124 15 The base of St Martin’s Gate, Waterford (photo: author) 129 16 St Laurence’s Gate, Drogheda (photo: OPW) 136 xi xii Plates 17 St Fintan’s Church, Sutton, Co. Dublin (photo: author) 141 18 Priests’ house, Howth, Co. Dublin (photo: author) 143 19 Jerpoint Abbey, Co. Kilkenny, with its fifteenth-century tower (photo: author) 148 20 Aerial photograph of Athassel Abbey, Co. Tipperary, showing its associated earthworks (courtesy Committee for Aerial Photography, University of Cambridge; photo: J.K. St Joseph) 150 21 Aerial photograph of Kilteel Church, Co. Kildare, showing remains of the Pale ditch to the west and south (courtesy Committee for Aerial Photography, University of Cambridge; photo: J.K. St Joseph) 183 22 The tower houses and later mansion at Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary (photo: OPW) 184 23 Tower house at Castlegrove, Co. Galway (photo: OPW) 185 24 St Mary’s Church, Howth, Co. Dublin (photo: author) 196 Preface and acknowledgements I would like to thank my wife, Eithne, who has patiently read through this book and made many helpful suggestions. In this same regard I would like to acknowledge the help and criticism of three of my professional colleagues who have read parts of the typescript and therefore prevented me from making even more mistakes in the interpretation of much archaeological data, Dr Michael Ryan of the National Museum of Ireland, Mr David Sweetman of the Office of Public Works and Mr Roger Stalley of the Department of the History of Art, Trinity College, Dublin. I also owe a great debt to the typing skills of Mrs Muriel Levingston of the Department of Medieval History and all the typists of the central secretariat of Trinity College, Dublin. I must acknowledge the stimulus and encouragement given to me by the then head of department, Professor Jim Lydon, all my students who have laboured hard in my special subjects and especially my research students. I am also grateful for the help given by the library staff of the Royal Irish Academy, the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, and Trinity College, Dublin. Finally I have to thank my editors at Methuen & Co./ Routledge for their forbearance and skilful assistance which has allowed this book to see the bright light of day. Because of the pace of research in medieval archaeology in Ireland some parts of this synthesis are likely to be out-of-date almost as soon as it is published, so the author would welcome additional information which could be included in any future edition. I have tried, to the best of my ability, to cover all aspects of settlement archaeology in medieval Ireland but because most of the available archaeological data relates to the Anglo-Normans the book has tended to concentrate on them, although every effort has been made to investigate the indigenous settlement forms as well. Finally I hope that all my readers and colleagues will forgive any errors of fact, interpretation or emphasis which may have occurred in the text.