I travelled on the new
road leading from Gallowshill to the M9 motorway over the Easter weekend and
marvelled at the previously unseen landscapes which the changing geography of
the district has now opened up for us.
The previously circuitous route via Shanrath and Foxhill leading to the
village of Ballitore has been replaced with a direct route which leaves what
was once the meandering track way of medieval man and beast, like a modern day
castaway. Almost, but not quite superfluous,
the ancient roadway now serves as a way of passage to dwelling houses which
over the decades sprang up amidst the quietness of a rural setting.
The geography of this part
of South Kildare has been changed in much the same way as the original road from
Athy to Dublin was changed two hundred years or so ago to give us the straight
stretches of roadway on either side of the Moat of Ardscull two hundred years
or so ago. The old Dublin Road ran a few
hundred yards to the east of the Moat but why it was changed I do not
know. As the old road approached Athy it
passed through the lands of Gallowshill, as did its 18th century
replacement and as still does the new 21st century roadway.
Gallowshill was then a
much more important part of the town’s geography than it is today. As the name confirms it was the site of the town’s
gallows which stood as a permanent reminder of the fate which awaited those who
infringed the law. Property rights in
the 17th and 18th centuries and earlier were far more
important than the right to life and the death penalty was applied rigorously
for what might now appear to have been the most minor of offences. The path to Gallowshill was a well trodden
one as the unfortunate miscreants were brought to the public place of execution
where afterwards their bodies were left on the gallows as a deterrent to
others.
A decade or so ago when
excavations were being carried out on sandpits at Gallowshill a number of
skeletal remains were found. In all
probability these were the remains of some unfortunates who breathed their last
on the town gallows at Gallowshill. Now
as we approach the new Gallowshill roundabout we can be forgiven for
overlooking the history of a place which in another age struck fear and
loathing in the hearts of so many. Its
story may never be fully known.
On another side of the
town, this time out on the Carlow Road, there remains another new roadway
awaiting completion. The Ardreigh
bypass, which was the subject of much comment after the costly rediscovery of
the medieval village of Ardreigh, will hopefully be finished before the year is
out. In the meantime the archaeologists
who spent so much time and money on excavating the Ardreigh site have provided
a multi volume preliminary report on their findings.
The findings indicated
that the Ardreigh site was of regional and possibly national importance. As in Gallowshill where the road alignment
was changed over the centuries, it was clear that the medieval village of
Ardreigh was served by a road which ran to the east of the present roadway.
A quite enormous amount of
medieval material and artefacts was unearthed at Ardreigh during the
archaeological excavations which commenced in 2000 and initially lasted for
just over three years. The site was not
worked on again until 2007 and was finally completed approximately a year
later. In addition to medieval material
the site also gave up evidence of prehistoric life, including a Neolithic stone
axe head, as well as several sherids of prehistoric pottery and flint
tools. One of the most important finds
on the excavated site was an intact late Bronze Age pot. The findings all point to the Ardreigh site
being a settlement dating from prehistoric through to medieval times.
The existing graveyard at
Ardreigh was always assumed to have been the more modern successor of an
ancient burial ground and the finding of nearly 1300 skeletal remains outside
the eastern boundary wall of the graveyard confirms that the commonly held
belief was indeed correct. The ‘Lost’ graveyard would appear to have
held an unusually large number of child skeletons, an obvious indication of the
high mortality rate in medieval times. Where however was the explanation for
the five skeletons found buried outside the medieval graveyard boundary? Three skeletons were buried in the same grave
which might indicate individuals executed for some criminal offence or
other. The traditional Christian
practice of burying corpses on their backs with their heads to the west and
their eyes to the east was practiced during the life of the Ardreigh
settlement. Incidentally it is a
practice which was and is still followed in Old St. Michael’s cemetery but not
in new St. Michaels where corpses are buried in a north south orientation.
The finding of the remains
of large lime kilns, lime storage pots and industrial hearths, together with
corn drying kilns, fragments of quern stones and the remains of some medieval
structures points to Ardreigh having been the site of a substantial settlement. Its importance in terms of Irish archaeology
awaits the outcome of further studies including carbon dating and Ardreigh may
well prove to have had an early Christian existence. No matter what further findings are made
Ardreigh has provided a unique collection of artefacts which adds enormously to
the heritage resources of the area. The
concern must be that those artefacts can eventually be restored to this area to
help us redefine and clarify our prehistoric and medieval past.
The skeletal remains which
were removed from the site for analysis will presumably be eventually returned
to Ardreigh for re-internment. Would it
be too much to hope for the recreation on the ‘idle’ land between the old and new road of the Ardreigh medieval
village as found by the archaeologists?
My thanks to the readers
who contacted me about the cast of Mary Mullans’ play, ‘The Turn of the Wheel’.
Unfortunately no one has yet turned up a photograph of the cast,
although I believe that such a photograph exists. If you can help me in my quest I would be
delighted to hear from you.
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