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Duchas The Heritage Service, Published 1998. Paperback, 52 pp.; 21 cm; Second Edition (first published 1994); square format; color and toned photographs throughout by Con Brogan and John Scarry, site map, site plan, plan of 1658, reconstruction painting of the settlement circa 10th century by Phelim Manning and Aislinn Adams.
In Very Good condition. Matte purple illustrated covers (the Cross of the Scriptures on front) with mild scuffing and fine surface scratches to both covers, lower front corner bumped and creased, mild shelf wear. Binding tight. Pages clean and unmarked. Official guide to the monastic city on the Shannon founded by St. Ciaran in the mid-6th century, written by the National Monuments Service archaeologist who directed excavations at the site. Covers the setting on the eskers and callows, the early history through the Viking and Anglo-Norman raids, the 12th-century golden age and later decline, the nature of the settlement, and then each of the eight surviving churches, the round towers, the Nuns' Church with its Romanesque doorway, the three high crosses, the ogham stone found in 1990, and the collection of more than 600 early grave slabs, the largest in Britain or Ireland. Also includes the metalwork associated with the site and a summary of the 1979, 1985, and 1989-90 excavations and the 1994-98 underwater survey that found the timber bridge of 804 AD. Manning (born 1953) later edited the Clonmacnoise Studies series and served as president of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. Contents: introduction; the setting; early history; the golden age of clonmacnoise; the decline of clonmacnoise; the nature of the settlement; site map; the churches and other buildings; the crosses, slabs and other artefacts; sources.