Midden, Bishopsquarter, Co. Clare
Co. Clare |
Settlement Sites
Beneath the path that cuts through a graveyard at Bishopsquarter in County Clare, a slice of everyday medieval life sits exposed in the soil.
A midden, which is essentially a refuse heap, has been revealed in cross-section along a stretch of walkway running roughly north-north-east to south-south-west. What makes it quietly remarkable is its ordinariness: six metres long and under a metre high, it contains a light concentration of oyster and periwinkle shells, the discarded remnants of meals eaten by people who lived and worked near this spot, possibly centuries ago.
The midden lies just to the west of the west gable of Drumcreehy church, a medieval structure set within a graveyard that has its own long history of use. At the northern end of the exposed section, a possible wall-footing survives, consisting of three courses of undressed stone blocks, half a metre high and just over half a metre wide, laid without any obvious mortar binding them together. Dry-stone construction of this kind was common in early and medieval Irish building, and the footing may represent the remains of a small ancillary structure associated with either the church or the activity that produced the midden itself. Whether the two features are directly related remains unclear, but their proximity suggests this corner of the graveyard was once a busier, more domestic space than its current quiet appearance implies.
The midden is visible in the cut face of the path, meaning it requires no excavation to observe. Visitors to Drumcreehy church who walk the graveyard path can see the shell-bearing layer directly in the exposed earth of the verge, a small but legible record of what people were eating and discarding at this spot long before the ground around them became a place set aside solely for the dead.