Time Team: The 98 series

Programme 7: Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland

How the site at Downpatrick has changed throughout the centuries, RealVideo, 30k

Going further afield, to Northern Ireland, we excavated the ecclesiastical settlement of Downpatrick, where – legend has it – St Patrick died. It was also the site of Bronze-Age encampments and later Benedictine monasteries, and we had the task of sorting out this historical puzzle.

The strangest things are put down drains. The object shown in the picture – and a great many more of the same – ended up in a drain at Downpatrick.

What is it?

In the Early Christian ditch excavated at Trench 4 was a drainage area that had been created much later. In this, Carenza and her team found masses of ceramic roof tiles glazed in a distinctive green, the ridges of which had very unusual spiked tops. They could be dated to the 13th/14th century – the Norman monastic period of the site. This drain had clearly carried waste from the main occupation area on Cathedral Hill, and the roof tiles may have been used in its construction. Alternatively, it may have finally become clogged up with bits and pieces of the monastic settlement – including the roof tiles.

Resources

Websites

This website contains links to other websites which are not under the control of and are not maintained by Channel 4 Television. Channel 4 Television is not responsible for the content of these sites and does not necessarily endorse the material on them.

The A to Z of Ancient Ireland
http://home.iprimus.com.au/selliot/ireland/a_to_z_of_ancient_ireland.html
Based on the book Ancient Ireland – The Users' Guide by Conan Kennedy, (Morrigan Books, Killala, Co.Mayo, Ireland)

Book of Kells Images
www.primate.wisc.edu/people/dubois/kells/
Illustrations from the Book of Kells, kept in the Trinity Library, University of Dublin.

Irish Archaeology on the Internet
www.xs4all.nl/~tbreen/links.html
Resources on the internet relevant to Irish archaeology are increasing all the time. This page attempts to collect all relevant links.

Irish Heritage Council, Archaeology pages
http://homepages.iol.ie/~sec/archaeol.htm
Good links page to other sources of Irish archaeological information.

PaddyNet's Island
www.paddynet.com/island/index.html
Explores the literature, folklore, history, natural features, and ancient sites of Ireland.

Stones of Ireland
www.stonepages.com/ireland/ireland.html

Books

The Modern Traveller to the Early Irish Church by Kathleen Hughes and Ann Hamlin (Four Courts Press, 1997) paperback £9.95
The best guidebook to the early monastic sites of Ireland from the 5th-12th centuries AD. As well as describing the carved stones and architecture still visible, the authors discuss the social foundations of monastic life.

Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland by Nancy Edwards (Routledge, 1996) paperback £25
Wide-ranging and well-illustrated account of the archaeology of early Christian Ireland, from the end of the Iron Age to the coming of the Vikings.

Patrick: The archaeology of a saint by Cormac Bourke (The Stationery Office, 1993) paperback £7.95
Amazing metal finds from the River Blackwater are the illustrated highlights in this compact discussion of the material traces of Ireland's patron saint. The text details what we know of Patrick's life with special reference to Downpatrick and other sites in Armagh.

Book of Kells by Bernard N Meehan (Thames & Hudson 1994) paperback £8.95
An all-colour guide including the most important fully decorated pages, plus a series of enlarged details. Full accompanying explanatory text.

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