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Glendalough - Episode 18035
297 Plays6 years ago
With a foundation date some time in the sixth century, the monastic landscape of Glendalough (Glen-daw-lock but said kinda fast) is a rich archaeological resource located 35 km south of Dublin.
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Transcript
00:00:01
Speaker
You're listening to the Archaeology Podcast Network.
Introduction to Glendalough
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With a foundation date sometime in the 6th century, the monastic landscape of Glendilach is a rich archaeological resource located 35 kilometers south of Dublin.
Podcast Introduction and Authors
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This is episode 35 for February 4th, 2018. I'm Chris Webster and welcome to the ARK365 podcast, 2018 edition. ARK365 is a podcast today, every day, in 2018. This episode was written by Jared Panditari.
Historical Significance of Glendalough
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The valley was carved out by glaciers during the last ice age and now contains two lakes, the larger upper lake and the smaller lower lake. The main monastic site is situated east of the lower lake.
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St. Kevin is credited as being the founder of the monastery here, and he is thought to have died around 618 CE, and for six centuries after this, there was a thriving monastic community mentioned multiple times in the Irish Annals as a monastic city. Included in these mentions are raids on the monastery by the Vikings and deaths of various abbots.
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At the entrance to the monastery there is the first and one of the most important sites, the gateway. Originally the structure would have been two stories tall and possibly had a timber roof. Within the gateway there is a cross inscribed stone which indicates the sanctuary or the boundary of the refuge or sacred space of the monastery as opposed to the secular
Architectural Highlights
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one. Some of the original paving for the monastery causeway can also be found here.
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Once within the monastic site, the most obvious monument is the 30 meter tall round tower. A common feature of Irish monastic sites, these towers were constructed as bell towers, and according to some, a refuge in times of strife, as the entryway is usually very high off the ground. In this case, the doorway is 3.5 meters above the ground level. At some time in its history, the conical roof of the tower fell in. During restoration work in 1876, it was reconstructed with the original stones.
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The other large and imposing building found at the core of the monastery is the cathedral. The building seems to show several phases of building and works with the earliest surviving section being the nave and later sections such as the chancel and sacristy which date to either the 11th or 12th centuries. Just south of the cathedral is an early stone cross which dates to the 6th or 7th century which is made in the local granite and is usually called St. Kevin's Cross.
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The Priesthouse is a reconstruction using the original stones and based on a sketch from 1779 by Behringer. It is a small Romanesque building which gets its name from the practice in the 8th and 19th centuries of burying priests in the building. Its original purpose is still unknown. A smaller steeply roofed building in stone stands nearby that also has a small tower jutting out of it that appears to have served as a belfry.
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This building is known as St. Kevin's Church or kitchen and dates roughly to the 12th century.
Other Notable Churches
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In 1875 the remains of a church were found and this has come to be known as St. Kieran's Church.
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The belief is that this church commemorates the founder of Clom McNoise, a monastery that had associations with Glendalock in the 10th century. Around 140 meters southwest of the Round Tower is St. Mary's Church. Dating to around the 10th century and very well constructed in local stone, this church supposedly belonged to the local nuns. Located 250 meters east of the main monastic site is the Trinity Church, a small and simple church which dates from either the 11th or 12th century.
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It once also sported a small tower or belfry, but this fell during a storm in 1818. The most recent church at Glendaleock is St. Savior's Church. Built sometime in the 12th century, this Romanesque church was partially restored in the 1870s. Aside from the monuments centered around the core of the monastery, there are several other monuments near the upper lake. Of these, the most well-known is St. Kevin's Bed. It is a small cave 8 meters above the surface of the lake in the rock face and was supposedly a retreat for the saint.
Monuments and Decline of Monastery
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Additionally, there is a cahair, a stonewalled circular enclosure, 20 meters in diameter of unknown date, temple Naskalig, a church only reachable by boat, partially rebuilt in the 12th century, and St. Kevin's cell, of which not much remains, but it possibly resembled the beehive huts on Skalig Michael. See episode 349 from last year.
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The monastery at Glendaleock was finally put out of regular use in 1214 when, as part of their invasion, the Normans destroyed it. However, over the centuries, it remained a popular spot for pilgrimage and, as recently as the 18th and 19th centuries, there are mentions of riotous assembly on the Feast of St. Kevin on June 3rd.
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This assemblage of buildings visible today tells only part of the story of the monastery and does not reveal much in the way of other activities that took place here such as manuscript writing, caring for the sick, farming, and many other activities.
Conclusion and Contact Information
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For more information on the site please see the show notes. Thank you.
00:04:37
Speaker
Thanks for listening to ARC 365. If you want to hear more ARC 365, check out www.arcpodnet.com slash ARC365 for the 2017 and 2018 episodes. Check out arcpodnet.com slash ARC365-G30 for the last 30 episodes. Please subscribe and rate on your service of choice. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play, among others. Support the APN at arcpodnet.com slash members. Thanks for listening, and thanks for being awesome.
00:05:06
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This show is produced and recorded by the Archaeology Podcast Network, Chris Webster and Tristan Boyle, in Reno, Nevada at the Reno Collective. This has been a presentation of the Archaeology Podcast Network. Visit us on the web for show notes and other podcasts at www.archpodnet.com. Contact us at chrisatarchaeologypodcastnetwork.com.