What is recorded here
Under the 19th-century cottages on Scattery Island, clay floors and scorched earth wait for discovery. A large medieval settlement likely strung itself along the shingle spit, using fire and building near the shifting shore. The island kept its old shape long after people stopped visiting it.
Excavations (Licence no. 01E0662) undertaken in 2001 to assess the impact of providing visitor facilities on Scattery Island revealed widespread remains of clay floors, metalled surfaces and scorching suggesting a large settlement close to the shore in the early or high medieval period (Pollock 2003, 24-5, no. 96). Material seen under the cottages suggests buildings may have strung themselves out along a shingle spit above the shore, as the 19th-century cottages did subsequently (Pollock 2008, 9).
Compiled by: Mary Tunney
Date of upload: 20 September 2016
This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 1/1971).
The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.
- What survives
- Recorded monument
Places near here
Castle (in Ruins)Castle, unclassified · 25 yd
Scattery Island Visitor CentreVisitor information · 38 yd
Scattery School House RuinsRuins · 52 yd
Church (Site of)Church · 122 yd
Fawley's PointHeadland · 433 yd
Scattery IslandIsland · 473 yd
Mall PointHeadland · 474 yd
FortCastle · 1135 yd
The Museum of Irish Rural LifeMuseum · 2.2 mi