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Rathnadrinna Research Excavation
For more info: www.facebook.com/rathnadrinna Contact: richardcashel@yahoo.co.uk
Rathnadrinna Fort is a trivallate, circular hilltop enclosure (TS061-089001) situated in Lalor’s-Lot townland, 3.33km south-southeast of Cashel town. Rathnadrinna Fort is the largest and best preserved of Cashel’s forts, and research here presents an ideal opportunity to learn more about the evolution and function of such sites in a royal landscape - Cashel of the Kings. From the seventh century AD Cashel was synonymous with the Eóganacht dynasty and later still the Dal gCais and the McCarthy’s until the late twelfth century.
In 2009 and 2010 the Heritage Council funded geophysical surveys inside and outside the fort undertaken by Earthsound Archaeological Geophysics. This work showed that within the centre of the fort is a 70m diameter feature of earth or stone, 0.5m thick enclosed by a circular ditch. This has been cut by a number of concentric smaller enclosure ditches. Ten smaller circular ring-ditches and arcing ditches have been detected across the entire survey area. These appear to exist around, within and were cut by Rathnadrinna fort indicating that they are likely to predate the monument we see today. These may represent foundation slot-trenches surrounding wooden structures or ditches surrounding burial barrows. It is proposed to investigate some of the geophysical anomalies, and the banks and ditches to gain a complete profile of their morphological make-up and sequence.
The excavation will form the basis of a community-based archaeological research project and represents the first research excavation in Cashel. The work is funded by the Royal Irish Academy – www.ria.ie Excavation dates: 11th June 2012 until 3rd August 2012 The excavation is open to anyone over 18 years of age. All the work is voluntary and there is no payment. As it is not an Archaeological Field School there is no Accreditation; accommodation and transport to/from the site is also not provided. However, basic training in archaeological methods will be provided under the expert supervision of the excavation director and site supervisors.
The excavation will be by hand only and there will be no machinery involved in the digging. Volunteers are asked to provide their own archaeological pointing trowel, which can be purchased over the internet.
The landowner is Mr. Tom Horan, Lalor’s-Lot, Cashel. As the site is an active farm entry/visits to the excavation is by prior appointment only to Richard O’Brien – no exceptions can be made. We ask all volunteers to respect the farm and upon entry / exit CLOSE all gates / fences.
The first season of excavation will be undertaken over an eight-week period in 2012 beginning Monday June 3rd and finishing Friday August 3rd, with a five-day working week, 9am-5pm (the times may vary closer to the excavation, depending on the farming).
In tandem with the excavation there will also be a 10-week free lecture series each Tuesday at 7.30pm in Cashel Library, on archaeological and historical topics. Each Wednesday evening a local pub in Cashel will host live music ‘The Dig Gig’ – check out www.cashel.ie for constant updates. On inspection, Rathnadrinna fort reveals itself as an almost perfectly-formed circular enclosure, measuring 140m in external diameter, and approximately 90m between its internal banks. The interior of the fort, an area of approximately 0.6 hectares is generally flat with slight rises at the northeast and southwest corners. The eastern side (south of the entrance area) is water-logged and is the most low-lying portion of the site, apart from the ditches.
The banks and ditches are extensively covered with trees and low-lying vegetation. On the western side of the fort, the inner ditch measures 4m wide, with the banks on either side varying between 2.5-3m wide and 1-1.5m high. The middle ditch is 3-3.5m wide and the outer ditch is over 5m wide. The latter terminates against the large bank, stone-faced on the inner side. On the eastern side the innermost ditch measures 3m wide with the banks on either side varying between 2.5-3m wide and 1m high. The middle ditch is 3m wide with the bank on its eastern side being 1.3m high. The outermost ditch is 4.5m wide and abuts a large bank stone-faced on the inner side. The bank itself is 2.6m wide and 1.5m high; where it survives best the stone-facing reaches to 1.8m high. The stones are well-covered in moss and lichen growth. There are traces of stones throughout other parts of the ramparts that may also have been faced with stone. However, the northern and southern portions of the banks are so densely covered with vegetation and trees in places that access is almost impossible.
Undoubtedly, the banks would have been higher and ditches deeper but constant movement of cattle has added to their denudation and silting up. It is also apparent that the banks are interrupted along their length in a few places where short gaps exist through them. The entrance avenue is on the east, c. 25m long and has a low ditch running on each side aligned perpendicular to the fort banks – perhaps keeping the avenue clear of slippage from the banks?
The townland of Lalor’s – Lot was located within the vast tract of land known as the ‘Commons’ of Cashel, said to have originally contained 4,000 acres and in the ownership of Cashel Corporation until the mid 19th century (Dalton 1994, 165). On the Down Survey map of 1656 the ‘Commons’ is called ‘Cottin’ and Rathnadrinna is not depicted. On the Civil Survey for this part of County Tipperary there is no mention of the fort although the physical boundaries of the ‘Commons’ are detailed (Simington 1931). It is only on the 1st edition OS 6 inch map (surveyed and information collated in 1839) that Rathnadrinna is first depicted. In the Ordnance Survey Namebooks O’Donovan described it as ‘Lalor’s Lot [Phelan’s or Lalor’s Lot] - Is all tillage and pasture; here is a remarkable fort called Rathnadrinee, with four concentric and very perfect parapets…Rath-na-drine, fort of the contest, Rath-na-drinee, Rathnadrinna’ (1839, 112 & 116).
The first scientific survey of the site was conducted by Mary Cahill in her ground-breaking study of the Barony of Middlethird. Rathnadrinna is listed as ‘R289’ and described as ‘…very good condition, three banks, 3 ditches, entrance very well defined on W [E] side, Dimensions 90m’. The satellite fort is listed as ‘R290’ and described as ‘…in fair condition, one bank, dimensions 25m’ (Cahill 1982). In 1985 Rathnadrinna was described as a ‘…[a] more complex multi-ramparted site…’ and was listed within the section of Iron Age habitation sites in the Tipperary History & Society publication (Raleigh 1985, 27). In 1994 Rathnadrinna was equated with the famous site of Ráthbreasail, the location of the great church synod of 1111. Here the spelling was given as ‘Rathnadrinagh’ and a royal origin for the site was proposed, on the basis of its’ size (Dalton 1994, 170).
More recently Rathnadrinna was again associated with royal Cashel, specifically the inauguration site of the Kings of Cashel and Munster known as Rath na nIrlann [Lis na nUrlann] (FitzPatrick 2004, 179). The exact reference is contained within The Yellow Book of Lecan and reads - ‘It is in this wise that the kings of Munster be elected…he should be brought to the Stone of Cothraige [Patricks Rock], and Cormac’s great church [Cormac’s Chapel] and there proclaimed king and be brought to Lis na nUrlann in Cashel and proclaimed [there also]’ (Ó Riain-Raedel 2006, 177). This is tantalizing evidence for a royal association between Rathnadrinna and the Rock of Cashel from the mid / late 12th century. Due to its sheer size, complexity of design and prominent location (on the southern approach to Cashel) a royal function for Rathnadrinna is justified.
References Cahill, M 1982 The Archaeology of the Barony of Middlethird, Co. Tipperary. Unpublished Masters Thesis for University College Cork Dalton, E 1994 ‘Tides of Change Aspects of Social and Economic History and Population Trends in the Parish of Cashel and Rosegreen’, in B Moloney (ed.) Times to Cherish Cashel and Rosegreen Parish History 1795-1995, 164-171. Parish of Cashel and Rosegreen, Cashel FitzPatrick, E 2004 Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland c.1100-1600 A Cultural Landscape Study. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge O’Brien R, Bonsall, J & Gimson, H 2010 Rathnadrinna Fort (RMP No. TI061-089001), Lalor's-Lot Townland, Cashel, County Tipperary, Report on Year 2 of Archaeological Geophysical Surveys, Unpublished Report to the Heritage Council, Ref. 17108 O’Brien, R, Gimson, H & Bonsall, J 2011 ‘Revealing royal Rathnadrinna’, Current Archaeology, 26-33. Issue 259. Selkirk Publishing, London O Flanagan, M 1932 (compl) Ordnance Survey Namebooks No. 126 Relickmurry to Templemore, Surveyed in 1839 by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland under the direction of John O’Donovan Ó Riain-Raedel, D 2006 ‘Cashel and Germany: the documentary evidence’, in D Ó Riain-Raedel & D Bracken (eds) Ireland And Europe in the Twelfth Century Reform and Renewal, 176-217. Four Courts Press, Dublin Raleigh, R 1985 ‘The archaeology of prehistoric Tipperary’, in W Nolan & T G McGrath (eds) Tipperary History & Society, 8-33. Geography Publications, Dublin
Small Mammal Workshop with MISE, BWI and STCC
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Beekeeping Course for Beginners
South Tipperary Beepers Association are pleased to announce that we are running a beekeeping course for beginners.
Avail of this opportunity to learn the basic skills of managing bees for the production of honey.
Participants will avail of
- Full membership of South Tipperary Beekeepers Association
- Insurance
- 6 theory classes
- 8 practical outdoor demonstrations
- Opportunity to purchase bees
- Advice and mentoring service
Free information night in Raheen House Hotel Clonmel. All are welcome on the 25th January at 20:00.
To book a place phone 087 9109360 or 052 6125600 or email tom@southtippbees.com
Fee: €100 payable on the first night of course
Further details contact the above or visit our website www.southtippbees.com
Course starts on the 31st January @19:30
Location: Cahir band room
Course dates: 31st Jan, 14th Feb, 28th Feb, 14th Mar, 28th Mar, 11th Apr.
Outdoor Demos Cahir: 19th Apr, 3rd May, 17th May, 31st May
Outdoor Demos Clonmel: 26th Apr, 10th May, 24th May, 7th June
Walking along the River Suir
One of Ireland's grand inland waterways runs through Clonmel in South Tipperary. Seeing the river surge through the town is one perspective but walking its banks a few miles upstream provides a serene contrast. In the middle of the town, the river seems muscular and it has occasionally burst its banks with unfortunate circumstances. A few miles upstream, the River Suir winds through woodlands and alongside wide expanses of space just off the small regional roads connecting towns throughout the Tipperary landscape. South Tipperary County Council's River Suir project gives some of the details concerning the development of the area while also offering instructions about walking alongside this lovely inland waterway. For those with an iPhone or an iPod, a small map accompanies this podcast. A few more River Suir episodes will follow this one and those walking maps will form part of the cover art so anyone listening can see where to start a walk that takes in some of the most historic landscape of County Tipperary.
Direct download: underway-79.mp3
