ireland Medieval

Saints and
Sinners
religion and conflict in
Medieval Ireland
Credit: Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd

Religion, and religious strife, have defined modern Ireland. New archaeological
evidence is showing that this cultural clash began long ago, with the very
arrival of Christianity. In our final article on Celtic Tiger archaeology,
Brendon Wilkins looks at the physical evidence of this spiritual struggle.

28 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk January 2011 |

‘H
istory,’ said Stephen Dedalus in the small townland of Ray-
in James Joyce’s masterpiece stown, Co. Meath. The site,
Ulysses, ‘is a nightmare from which endured for at least 600
which I am trying to awake.’ years as a large farming settle-
Joyce was commenting on the ment, was excavated by CRDS
violence of Irish history, par- Ltd between 2004-2005. Exca- Raystown
ticularly that done in the name of Christian faith. vations, led by Matthew Seaver,
Dublin
That history began at the dawn of the Christian uncovered a burial ground and
Carrickmines
era in Ireland, as a new ecclesiastical class com- two areas of domestic activity;
mitted names, stories, and events to paper for the outside this core area were a
Woodstown
first time. But, as the new archaeological evidence large number of boundary
emerging from development-led excavations has and drainage ditches, cereal-
shown, they may have been the first to write his- drying kilns and the remains
tory - but they weren’t always the winners. of at least eight water-mills and
Interchangeably known as the early Chris- water-houses.
tian period, Early Medieval Ireland was a highly The burial ground was centred on the top of a
segmented society divided between approxi- ridge, with half of it falling within the planned
mately 150 kings, who exercised power through road corridor. Excavations recovered 93 burials,
left Decorated lead pan
a tribal structure. Tradition holds that Saint Pat- with evidence, primarily disarticulated bone weight or gaming counter,
rick arrived in Ireland as a missionary in AD 432, scattered through the soil, for a further 40 burials found at Woodstown,
although contemporary chronicles suggest that that had been disturbed by grave-digging and Co. Waterford.
there were already Christians in Ireland at this agriculture. The mostly shallow, unlined graves
time, with Palladius ordained as their first bishop were generally aligned with the skeleton’s head to
Below Unusual burial in
in AD 431 by Pope Celestine I. the west; some burials with a tightly-bound pos-
the remains of a kiln on
The advance of Christianity was accomplished ture indicated that the people had been buried in the edge of the Raystown
in two phases: an expansion period when the shrouds, while others contained objects such  enclosure.
faith was still a minority practice, and a consoli-
dation period when Christianity bedded down
as the dominant belief system. Missionaries had
two basic strategies to convert the Irish pagans.
Their first option was to befriend wealthy fami-
lies in the hope that they would grant land for
a church, perhaps with one of their own kin
appointed as abbot. A more effective strategy
would be to convert a king, leading to the nom-
inal conversion of his entire territory.
Through this gradual process, the church
expanded its reach throughout Irish society,
and by AD 700 Ireland was, at least nominally,
a Christian country. Monks, ecclesiastical ten-
ants, and sections of the wider community were
encouraged to recognise their affiliation in death
through burial at ecclesiastical sites, though a
large cemetery site excavated on the N2 Finglas-
Ashbourne road scheme indicates the supremacy
of the Christian authorities was not yet above
challenge.

Secrets from the grave

In the early 5th century, at approximately the
photo: CRDS Ltd

same time that the first Irish Christians were

seeking their first Bishop from Rome, people
began burying their dead in an enclosed cemetery

| Issue 250 www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 29

 ireland Medieval

as an iron knife, iron pin, copper-alloy ring, and

a blue-glass bead found near a child’s neck. The
graves were radiocarbon dated to between the
early 5th to the late 10th centuries.
The burials comprised 68 adults, three adoles-
cents, 20 juveniles and two older infants. During
this period, children frequently died before four
years of age; at Raystown, the percentage of juve-
niles and infants was very low, and there are
no neonatal (birth to four weeks) burials, sug-
gesting that they must have been buried else-
where – perhaps in a cillin (a separate, designated
area of non-consecrated ground for unbaptised,

photo: Hawkeye
premature, and illegitimate offspring). Disease
was a factor of everyday life, and many of the
adult burials showed evidence of infections,
above Excavation of two
such as tuberculosis. A number of the burials also souterrains (subterranean unusual burial practice was also apparent, with
demonstrate the violent nature of Early Medieval structures) in the one male inserted in a former drying kiln, some
Irish life, with two males in particular showing northern area of the distance from the other burials. Unlike the other
Raystown site.
cuts to the bone from a blade. Additional, burials, he was covered with stones, in a north-
south position, with legs flexed.

Land of the living

On either side of the cemetery were densely set-
tled areas. To the north, an area paved with small
stones was discovered to be littered with animal
bone, and artefacts such as bone and iron pins,
needles, iron tools, and a horse bit. Post-holes sug-
gest a house, and two souterrains were discovered
in this area. The first had a narrow passageway
leading to a rounded chamber; initially timber-
built, the entrance was later replaced with stone.
The second was stone-built with a corbelled roof
and rectangular chamber. This northern area
and the cemetery were later enclosed by a large,
rectangular enclosure, indicating that the people
felt the need to distinguish this area of the site
from the farming activity outside. To the south
of the cemetery was a dense pattern of gullies,
hearths and a probable house site.
The land outside the settlement and cemetery
enclosures was dominated by features relating to
work and production, such as field and livestock
enclosures, kilns, and mills. Ditches, running
down-slope, radiated outward from the core
enclosures, subdividing this area and forming
images: CRDS Ltd and GSB Prospection Ltd

drains and boundaries. Five figure-of-eight

Above left Aerial photograph of Raystown, with

topographical contours at 1m intervals (white lines) and
geophysical survey data (blue lines).

left Plan of Raystown, showing geophysical survey data

and excavated remains.

30 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk January 2011 |

shaped cereal drying kilns were found, which
would have been a necessity in the damp, cold
Irish climate for staving off decay, and allowing
grain to be milled more efficiently. Animal hus-
bandry was also a large part of life at Raystown,
with more than 700kg of animal bone recovered
during excavations, representing the remains of
cattle, pig, sheep, goats, horses, deer, and birds.
The most impressive, and community-defining
remains, however, were the spectacular physical
remains of up to eight watermills along with the
substantial watercourses that fed them.
The mills were concentrated in clusters across
the site, and located some distance from the water
source, which was a channel connecting to the

images: Hawkeye, Simon Dick for CRDS Ltd

Broad Meadow River. The majority of the mills
used horizontal wheels, which were fed water by
a wooden chute, known as a flume; this directed
the water, with force, at the wheel, which in
turn drove a haft that turned the millstones
in the upper building. Wooden and stone
foundations from five of these buildings
survived at Raystown. Horizontal mills of
these types were in common use in Ireland
until the 20th century, and can still be seen
in operation in Bosnia, Spain, and Portugal.
The mills were radiocarbon dated
between the 7th and 10th centuries, and
Raystown was abandoned by the 12th cen-
tury. Choosing this place to bury their dead,
rather than the official church burial yard,
was a deliberate strategy to articulate a long
history with the area, re-establish their rela-
tionship with their ancestors, and guarantee
connection with the land. As Christianity
established its monopoly on salvation of the
soul in Ireland, ancestral burial grounds fell out
of favour, to be replaced by churchyard burial.
Across Europe, the arrival of Christianity fur-
ther strengthened and consolidated royal power,
laying the foundations for Medieval feudalism,
and a re-patterning settlement with an ecclesi-
astical or monastic focus. Into this heady, new-
found affluence, technological developments in
ship-building saw new types of craft set sail on
the western seas, emanating from the North Sea
shores of Scandinavia. The Vikings were coming.
longships, powered by large crews of 20 or
more under oar and sail. The sight of such
ships, perhaps headed by warrior chieftains,
sent chills through the monastic communi-
ties that had grown rich through Ireland’s
‘Golden Age of Christianity.’ At one such
ecclesiastical site near Waterford, it seems
that rather than striking and leaving, the
raiding parties settled in for the long haul.
Ireland’s oldest city, Waterford, was
founded in AD 914 as a Viking longphort,
or shore fortress. The city is located at the
head of Waterford harbour, and though
above Aerial rich archaeological evidence for the later
photograph of mills Hiberno-Norse period has been excavated below
under excavation. the modern streets, the early origins of the first
Viking settlers were mysteriously absent. This
inset A reconstruction
of one of the mills at was to change, however, with remarkable discov-
Raystown. eries between 2002 and 2006 at Woodstown. The
entirely unexpected discovery suggested that
archaeologists had been looking in the wrong
place, and the first Viking encampment was up-
river of the present city.
In March 2002, Archaeological Consultancy
Services Ltd began archaeological testing 

Oath-bound thugs At one ecclesiastical site near Waterford,

The period is named after the Norse warriors rather than striking and leaving, the
who went i viking or ‘raiding’, attacking coastal or
estuarine settlements in pursuit of money, slaves,
raiding parties settled in for the long haul.
treasure, and honour. They traveled in slender

| Issue 250 www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 31

 ireland Medieval
images: Simon Dick for CRDS Ltd
and geophysics in advance of the proposed
N25 Waterford City Bypass, in the township of
Woodstown, 6km south of Waterford City on
the southern bank of the River Suir. The work
was directed by Ian Roberts, and coordinated
for the NRA by Richard O’Brien. Test-trenching
revealed approximately 600 buried features and
right Interpretive
drawing of the
archaeological features
detected by geophysical
survey of Woodstown.
32 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk
deposits, with geophysics showing the presence
of additional features between the test-trenches.
Portions of 12 of the original 29 test trenches
were fully excavated, providing evidence for
both domestic and industrial activity, including
an enclosure ditch, pits, linear features, ditches,
hearths and other areas of burning, and struc-
tural evidence such as post- and stake-holes. Once
the significance of the site had been appreciated,
it was declared a National Monument; and, for
the first and only time in Irish archaeology, the
road was redesigned to avoid and safeguard the
archaeology.
Some evidence for Middle- to Late Bronze Age
(approximately 1500 BC) activity was discov-
ered, and the deep enclosure ditch was revealed
to have been dug in the early 5th century AD.
Further excavation of the ditch would prove to
be extremely fruitful, as significant evidence was
found for extensive metalworking, including a
silver ingot, large quantities of slag, iron blades
and knives, an iron knife blade and tang, iron
nails and rivets, crucibles, burnt bones, an ivory
bead, honestones, and rotary burnishing stones.
The majority of the site was radiocarbon dated
between the late 7th and early 11th centuries,
the early Medieval or Hiberno-Norse period. Ini-
above Reconstruction of tially interpreted as a defended settlement, there
Raystown c.AD 900. is a possibility that such a large and wealthy
site could have been ecclesiastical in nature; a
number of stratified copper caskets and stud-
mounts, dated between the late 6th and early 7th
centuries, were also found in the enclosure ditch,
and these would be more typical of objects owned
image: Earthsound Archaeological Geophysics
January 2011 |
 left An aerial view of
Woodstown, taken in
2001.
photo: Waterford City Council
by the Church rather than the mundane objects
found on secular settlement sites. Though Wood-
stown was, in fact, a substantial, multi-period site,
it is the Viking Age evidence – and the manner in
which it was discovered – which has proved most
interesting.
During the middle to late 9th century, Viking
ships sailing on the River Suir landed at Wood-
stown, which was then a native Irish settlement.
How these Vikings interacted with the natives
may never be fully understood, but they cer-
tainly settled on the site and made significant
changes to the existing structures there. In addi-
tion to the grave of a single Viking warrior, over
5,000 Viking Age artefacts were recovered from
the topsoil at Woodstown.
Analysis of the finds shows quite clearly that
trading was an important aspect of Viking life at
Woodstown. In total, 36 pieces of silver – mostly
hacked ingots – and 208 pan lead weights, used
to weigh precious metals, were found in the top-
soil. This assemblage is the largest such collection
from rural Ireland; the high rate of recovery high-
lights the importance of systematic scanning
of the site using metal detectors. Other objects
found included iron clench nails, roves (used to
join ship timbers), and a fragment of an Arabic
silver Kufik coin, which reflects the Vikings’
wider trading contacts.
Over 5,000 artefacts (89% from topsoil) found
at Woodstown were recovered after six months’
continuous investigation by a team of five archae-
ologists using metal detectors. This raises meth-
odological questions about how such sites should
be investigated in future, and surely indicates
that such intensive work needs to be replicated
| Issue 250
in future Viking discoveries, particularly rural
sites. The discoveries at Woodstown show that
similar settlements must have existed on other
waterways, as the River Suir is only one of three
rivers feeding Waterford Harbour. Similarly, the
lack of known early Viking settlement along the
Co. Waterford coast is probably down to a lack of
research, rather than a lack of sites.
Radiocarbon dating suggests the Woodstown
settlement was abandoned by the middle of the
11th century, and it remained forgotten until
its rediscovery in 2003. Did events following
the Battle of Clontarf in AD 1014, in which 
A warrior’s grave
A Viking grave was discovered about 22m outside the enclosure ditch at
Woodstown 6. Buried beneath just 0.25m of topsoil, it is likely that the grave had
been disturbed by ploughing, and several large boulders found within the grave
suggest that it may once have been covered by a low stone cairn. Due to the high
acidity of the soils, no skeleton was
found; however the finds, including a
broken sword, sword fragments, shield
boss, spearhead, battleaxe, copper-alloy
cloak pin, and a perforated honestone,
indicate a burial of relatively high status.
The soils from within the grave were
hand-sieved, and thus all the iron shield
rivets were found. The burial was dated
by stylistic comparison to other securely
dated sites, with the sword hilt placing
it between the mid-9th to mid-11th
centuries. The Woodstown warrior grave
is the first scientific excavation of a rural
Viking burial in Ireland since the 1940’s.
Right and below Picture and plan
of the Viking Grave at Woodstown.
imnage: ACS Ltd
www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 33
 ireland Medieval

Brian Boru was defeated by the King of Lein-
ster and his Viking mercenaries, play a
part in its demise? Did these Vikings
move upstream and settle in the
present Waterford City? The
political landscape was cer-
tainly changing in Ireland,
becoming concentrated
in the hands of a few
regional dynasties. But
by 1168, an invasion
force of Norman knights,
themselves descended
from Vikings, were about
to land on Ireland’s shores,
heralding a bloody age of
conquest and rebellion that
would continue into living
memory.
Beyond the pale
Carrickmines Castle was an Anglo-Norman for-
tress dating to the 12th century. It was located in
the former marshes of south Co. Dublin, near
the foothills of the Dublin and Wicklow moun-
tains, on the line of the Pale Ditch. The Norman
invasion of 1168 brought much of Ireland under
the control of the kings of England, but their
influence waned in the 13th century as Norman
knights became increasingly assimilated into
Irish culture. The Pale was the part of Ireland that
was directly under the control of the English gov-
ernment in the late Middle Ages, and by the 15th
century it had been reduced to a small area along
the east coast encircling Dublin.
The site was subject to a major excavation
between 2000 and 2002 in advance of the M50
Dublin Ring Road, directed by Dr Mark Clinton
on behalf of Valerie J Keely Ltd. Carrickmines
became a flashpoint for controversy surrounding
the road construction, as protesters calling
themselves the ‘Carrickminders’ sought to have
the road re-routed. Allegations of bribery were
Photos: Richard O’Brian, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd
The 17th century was perhaps the bloodiest
in Ireland’s history, with the Irish Rebel-
lion of 1641 descending into an
ethnic conflict between native
Irish Catholics and English
and Scottish Protestant set-
tlers. Carrickmines was
laid siege on 26 and 27
March 1642, when Eng-
lish troops under Sir
Simon Harcourt suc-
cessfully stormed the
castle – being held at
the time by rebel forces.
Neither man, woman
or child was spared the
ensuing slaughter, and the
discovery of a mass grave con-
taining the remains of 15 butch-
ered skeletons brought this grisly
past dramatically to life.
Analysed by conflict archaeologist Damian
Shiels and osteoarchaeologist Linda Fibiger, the
Above A selection of team identified two multiple burials containing
stone, glass, bone, metal, the remains of men, women, and children, aged
and glass artefacts
between 3 and 45 years old. A young male was
recovered at Woodstown.
also excavated some 7.5m from the mass grave,
buried face down with no indication of care or
ceremony. Clear evidence for blade trauma was
found on seven individuals and a number of
other disarticulated remains. None of the inju-
ries showed signs of healing, indicating that they
were sustained at the time of death, likely to be
the result of sword cuts.
A musket ball was found in close association
with one skeleton, suggesting at least one indi-
vidual was shot; other artefacts found in the
grave provided clues as to the date of the victims’
death. Thirteen coins were recovered, with nine
coming from a single find spot, and the others
from close proximity. The coins were of Eng-
below Viking-type five- lish mint, consisting of ten sixpences and three
lobed sword pommel. shillings. A key was also discovered beneath the
right elbow of one of the victims. Was this the

also investigated as council officials, at key to an important room or chest in

greatly inflated prices, had suspiciously the castle? We may never be able to
rezoned large areas of farm- recover the precise details Many than
land. While the forensic of their gruesome end, mentione
Michael St
accountants sorted the but the Carrickmines National R
finances, the discovery assemblage has pre- and suppo
of a mass war graves sented archaeologists
from the 17th century with an insight into
kept the forensic archae- the physical reality of
ologists equally busy. sieges in the 17th century,

34 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk January 2011 |

 and the brutal warfare that engulfed the country
during Irish Rebellion.

The End of the Road

In his recent book, Europe Between The Oceans
(profiled in CA 229, 230, 231), Barry Cunliffe
assessed how the relatively minor peninsula of
Europe came to dominate world affairs. By the
15th century, Europe was a driving world force,
and the prehistoric origins for this success lay
in the dynamic mix of natural resources, strong
sea-faring traditions and continual interaction
between different cultures. The movements and
migrations of people throughout Irish prehis-
tory are complex and every bit as convoluted as
further reading  the political history of our modern age. As the
western-most outpost of the European peninsula,
Richard O’Brien and Ian Russell, 2004. ‘The Hiberno-Scandinavian site of Woodstown 6, County
Waterford’. Recent Archaeological Discoveries on Road Schemes 2004, the National Roads Ireland was a rich, fertile ground for travellers

Photos: Róisín Barton-Murray

Authority Monograph No. 2, ISBN: 978-0954595517. and traders from afar.
When the Celtic Tiger reached the end of the
Matthew Seaver, 2006. ‘Through the mill: excavation of an Early Medieval settlement
road, it became clear that the enduring gift of this
at Raystown, County Meath’, Settlement, Industry and Ritual, National Roads Authority
Monograph No. 3, ISBN 978-0954595524 never-before-seen scale of work has allowed us to
grasp Ireland’s historical complexity through C a

above The only surviving upstanding wall with window of Carrickmines Castle, Co.
Dublin, which was incorporated into a later post-medieval structure. This section of the
castle wall has been preserved in situ.
below A section of the revetted fosse at the site of Carrickmines Castle, Co. Dublin,
preserved in situ under the roundabout of the current motorway interchange.

nks to all the site directors and companies

ed throughout these articles. Special thanks to
Stanley, Frank Zac, Ronan Swan and all at the
Roads who have given so generously of their time
orted the project from start to finish.

| Issue 250 www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 35