Caherconnell

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Caherconnell - in the foreground a wall accompanying the road

Caherconnell ( Irish Cathair Chonaill ) is a large stone fort in the Burren in County Clare in Ireland . The plants Cahergall , Leacanabuaile , Caherdaniel Fort , Cathair to Lothair and Staigue Fort (all in County Kerry ), Caherdooneerish in County Clare, Dun Aengus and Dun Chonchúir on the Aran Islands in County Galway and the Grianan of Aileach in County Donegal include one of the few plants in the west of Ireland that match the Caherconnell design. Caher is the Anglicized form of the Irish word " cathair " (which means Dun or Steinfort in some regions of the island ), but does not enforce a fortification.

The large, almost round fort has an outer diameter of 140–145 m. Its wall is 12 m thick and 6 to 14 m high. The masonry consists of large blocks. In its heyday Caherconnell was an enormous complex, the question of dating being problematic due to the lack of archaeological excavations. It may have been built around AD 500, and there is evidence that it was still occupied in the 15th century. The current interior belongs to the last phase.

  1. The access
    Although there is a wide gap in the wall, the original access was probably a narrow covered corridor. At the beginning of the 20th century, machined blocks were found at the entrance, suggesting that it was renovated in the late Middle Ages, like other forts in the Burren ( Cahermacnaughten and Cahermore ).
  2. The
    House Foundation A series of slabs form the line for a large rectangular house, possibly the main house. It probably consisted of a room with a central fireplace.
  3. Internal partition wall
    A destroyed dry stone wall runs through the interior and presumably divides it functionally into two parts.
  4. Foundations
    Two adjacent foundations were uncovered during clean-up work in 2002. They represent the outlines of two buildings. Perhaps they were buildings for livestock, tools, or food. Ringforts may have been inhabited by large families (Irish: derbhfine) of several generations, perhaps more than 25 people. There was usually more than one building in a ring wall.
  5. Animal enclosures
    Archaeological excavations and early legal texts indicate that cattle were temporarily kept within the ring fort, perhaps during the calving and lambing season. A small paddock could have been intended for cattle.
  6. The curtain wall
    The wall needed regular maintenance. Such work is believed to have been carried out by families associated with Caherconnell users.
  7. Structures outside the fort
    A "kid cro" (a stone-built shelter for lambs) that is only 100–200 years old lies on the outside of the wall. He recalls that there were probably outbuildings next to many forts. However, it is questionable whether this is consistent with the original use in the early Middle Ages.

New finds

Caherconnel

In 2008 a prehistoric chamber was found at Caherconnell Fort, which is unique in the archeology of the British Isles . In the chamber, the skeleton of a 15 to 25 year old woman not in the anatomical association was discovered. Radiocarbon dating has shown that the body got into the chamber when the facility was built in the 15th century. This landfill is unusual for two reasons:

  1. The dumping of bones that were not in the anatomical association was much earlier in the 3700 BC. Dolmen built in BC .
  2. As it was dumped in the 15th century, it was supposed to be a burial according to Christian tradition. Why this is not the case will be the subject of discussion at archaeological conferences and further research.

Early medieval settlements like Caherconnell often show connections with prehistoric cult sites. However, it is unusual to find human remains in this way at such a late date. The other artefacts from the chamber consist of a prehistoric ceramic shard (dated around 3700 BC) and fragments of three stone ax heads. The surface finds within the depression consisted of the iron blade of a medieval knife and three silver coins dated as follows:

  • 1 × Edward III. Silver half penny Durham AD 1344-1351
  • 1 × Edward III. Silver Groschen Canterbury AD 1327-1335
  • 1 × Elizabeth I. silver sixpence AD ​​1582/3

Caherconnell is about one kilometer south of the Poulnabrone dolmen and can be visited for a fee.

Ringforts are the most common monuments in the Irish countryside and are known by a variety of names including Fort, Rath, Dún, Lios, Cashel and Caher. They usually vary between 25 and 50 meters in diameter and were mainly built during the early Christian period (00–1100 AD). There are currently 224 real ring forts in County Clare.

literature

  • Matthew Stout: The Irish Ringforts . Dublin 1997, ISBN 1-85182-582-7 .
  • TJ Westropp: Archeology of the Burren: Prehistoric Forts and Dolmens in North Clare.

Web links

Coordinates: 53 ° 2 '27.2 "  N , 9 ° 8' 22.8"  W.