My blog looks at the archaeology and heritage of sites in Tipperary and surrounding areas. As many of these sites are on private property, it is important to request permission from the landowner before entering private lands so that access does not become a problem across all sites.
Saturday 4 June 2016
Sacrarium at Monsea Church
One very interesting feature of this church is what is known as a "Piscina" or sometimes described as a "Sacrarium". I'll be honest and say that before researching this blog piece I actually thought a Piscina was just another name for a holy water font.
It is similar in that it is small bowl like feature. However unlike a holy water font this bowl actually has a hole in the bottom with some kind of pipe or outlet to the outside of the church. In it is poured the left over water from Mass and Martin Power (in his book on the local history of the area "Dear Land, Native Place") uses a quote to describe this practice as "What came from the earth, returns to the earth".
Wikipedia has some further information on Piscinas / Sacrariums and interestingly it states that in the Anglican tradition they are more commonly known as Piscinas while in the Roman Catholic tradition Sacrariums. Technically the Piscina is the bowl part while the drain is the Sacrarium!
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