Caherlehillan
The early church enclosure of Caherlehillan ( Irish Cathair Leithuilleann [ kɑhərʲ ˈlʲehəlʲən ]) near the hamlet of Kells, between Cahersiveen and Glenbeigh , in the west of the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry in Ireland was excavated between 1992 and 2004.
The place, which cannot be linked to any founder by name, presents itself as a small dun that contains the remains of a wooden church, a shrine and two cross slabs from the middle of the 5th or early 6th century.
There are four post holes that characterize the corner posts of the original church. The wooden church was equipped with a wooden altar, which was supported by a single post, similar to that on the stone pillar of Kilnaruane shown altar . There was probably a sacrarium on the south side of the church . This is the earliest dated church in Ireland and the most complete wooden example in terms of its liturgical features, altar and sacrarium.
In the north-eastern section of the enclosure is an approximately 1.9 × 1.9 m measuring shrine of the corner post type, which was built in the 7th or 8th century over an earlier grave, which was probably that of the founder. It essentially consisted of a square of large side and ceiling tiles made of sandstone and upright columns at the corners. Its interior was empty except for the earthen core. In this sense, the shrine is radically different from the gable shrines found elsewhere in Ireland that appear to have functioned as relics. Most of the other 18 graves in the cemetery were on the long axis of the church and were apparently contemporary.
On the western side of the shrine there are two cross slabs, which can be dated to about the 7th century. The 1.15 m higher plate bears a Latin cross with stylized ends and a rondel under the cross. The smaller and wider plate is provided with a Maltese cross. It is believed that the lower part is a flabellum, a liturgical fan of the early Eastern Church. A stylized peacock is depicted above the cross, representing a connection with the flabellum. The style of decoration on the two plates and on two other fragments found here, as well as the presence of B-ware vessels, indicate a connection between the Mediterranean Sea and Caherlehillan.
Nearby are the stone fort of Caherlehillan, the Wedge Tomb of Caherlehillan South and the stone line of Gortnagulla.
literature
- John Sheehan: Caherlehillan: art and architecture . In R. Moss (Ed.): The Art and Architecture of Ireland, vol. 1. The Medieval Period c.400-1600, Yale University Press, 2014 pp. 132-133.
- John Sheehan: Caherlehillan: ritual, domestic and economic aspects of a Corcu Duibne ecclesiastical site In C. Corlett and M. Potterton (eds.): The Church in Early Ireland, Dublin, 2014 pp. 247-258.
- John Sheehan: Fragments of stone slabs with crosses, ceramic shards of late Roman amphora , In C. Stiegemann, M. Kroker and W. Waler (eds.): Credo - Christianization of Europe in the Middle Ages , Petersberg, 2013 pp. 218–220.
- John Sheehan: A peacock's tale: excavations at Caherlehillan, Iveragh, Ireland In: Nancy Edwards (Hrsg.), The archeology of the early medieval Celtic churches. Proceedings of a conference held at Bangor University, Wales, 9-12 Sept. 2004. Society for Medieval Archeology Monograph 29, 2009. London, Maney, pp. 191-206. ISBN 978-1-906540-61-6 .
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 59 ′ 10 " N , 10 ° 4 ′ 43" W.