This article is from page 4 of the 2014-02-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
IT APPEARS that Christianity and paganism coexisted in the Burren for hundreds of years – far longer than than had been previously thought.
Radiocarbondating of three bodies discovered at the Caherconnell Stone Fort in Carron has revealed that the woman and two infant children died somewhere between 535 AD and 649 AD.
The human remains, which were discovered underneath the fort last summer, have given archeologist a new perspective on the relationship between pagan and Christian peoples in the area.
The burial cist was discovered underneath the remains of a stone fort built in the area in the 10th or 11th century. The placing of the cists indicates that the fort was built on top of the ancient burial site, with part of the site actually visible inside the fort.
The current theory is that the people who built the fort were drawing on their connection to this pagan people buried their 500 years earlier to help legitimize their own rule in the area.
It has previously been determined that the fort belonged to a high status local, Christian clan.
“The fort was built on top of the burial site and it must have been done on purpose. By all accounts Christianity should have been fully in at this time, but it seems that the high status people who lived here were happy to keep one foot in each world,” said John Davoran of the Caherconnell Stone Fort.
Testing on the remain has shown that they belonged to a woman who was at least 45 years old, a baby aged between one and two and a very young baby, possibly a newborn or still born child.
The bodies were discovered during annual excavation led by Michelle Comber of NUI, Galway, last summer. There will be further excavation on the site this summer.
“I’d say we will be digging here for another 1,000 years. We have plenty left to discover,” continued Mr Davoran.
“We will be focusing on the fort again this year.
“We’d like to locate the original house of the people who built the fort. We feel that this could unlock a few more of the secrets of the fort.
“But we will be moving from the fort in the years to come.
“There is a large amount of interesting sites in the area and we are very keen to see what they contain.”