Bronze collars from Denmark
Independent copper metallurgy?
Recognising Ores
Gold sourcing…
Early Irish goldwork appears to be derived from alluvial gold.
This is often collected by either place-mining or panning a process where the heavier density of the gold makes it sink and other soil and sediment is washed away.
Gold Sources?
Ireland continued to exploit local gold throughout the Bronze Age.
There is a synchronous change of source at the MBA-LBA transition (1150 BC).
Earlier gold was rarely re-cycled.
Chapman et al 2006 Applied Geochemistry Vol 21, 859-1092
Copper Ores
Copper mining: Ross Island 2400-2000 BC
Copper mining tools
Mount Gabriel (Cork), copper mines
Great Orme, copper mines (Wales)
Changes in Metalworking
Early Bronze Age
Simple one piece moulds
Changes in Metalworking
By the end of the Early Bronze Age
Two-piece (bi-valve) moulds in use
Metalworking Techniques in the Late Bronze Age
Some one-piece moulds and bi-valve, or two-piece, moulds continue in use
This is eventually followed by lost-wax casting in the Late Bronze Age
A model of the object to be cast is made in wax
This is encased in clay with vents and a gate left
This is heated the wax melts away via the vents
The molten bronze is poured through the gate and the mold is broken to remove the finished piece
Late Bronze Age Metalworking: Moulds (Dun Aonghusa, Inis Mór)
Casting Using Lost Wax Method
‘Kurd’ buckets
3. Cape Castle, Antrim
4. Magilligan, Derry
‘Kurd’ buckets
Hosszúpályi (Hungary)
Lunulae
Two main types:
Classical and Unaccomplished – also Provincial Type (found in France and Britain)
Tamlaght Hoard, Co. Armagh
At least two sheet bronze bowls, one placed inside the other
A sword of Irish (possibly a Type 3)
Dates to the 11th century BC
Fuchsstadt-Type vessels
Fuchsstadt-Type vessel from Austria
Fuchsstadt-Type vessels
Jenisovice Type vessel From Bjergsted, Skippinge, Denmark
Jenišovice-Type vessels
Pins and Bracelets Ballytegan Hoard, Co. Laois
Contain sunflower pins (1, 2 and 4 below)
Disc-headed pins
(No. 3 below)
Triple-bracelet
See Danish sunflower pin below.
Bronze collars from Denmark
Raftery’s proposed development of gorgets
Sintra Collar, Portugal
Gold hats? (Probably bowls)
Gold ‘cones’
Aventon Berlin Ezelsdorf Schifferstadt
Aventon Berlin Ezelsdorf Schifferstadt
Rathgall, Co. Wicklow
Exotic finds are often associated with the major hillforts (date to around 1200 BC).
Finds have parallels in the southern Alpine area and Germany.
Shields: U-notched Type
Cloonlara, Co. Mayo
Wooden mould
Oak
48 cm diameter
Shields: U-notched Type
Churchfield, Co. Mayo
Wooden mould
Alder
Cut-out handle in rear
Shields: V-notched Type
Clonbrin, Co. Longford
Leather
50 cm in diameter
Engravings of V-notched shields
A group of monuments in Spain carry engraved scenes showing various weapons and shields. V-notched shields are prominent.
They are mostly in Extremadura
Appear to date to between 9th and 7th centuries BC.
Example on the right is from Solana de Cabañas
Brozas
V-notched shield on engraved 7th-8th century BC slab from Brozas, Cáceres in Spain
Cabeza de Buey
V-notched shields on engraved 7th-9th century BC slab from Cabeza de Buey (just south of Brozas)
Out of the distant past
Bronze and gold hoards:
Votive deposits or smiths’ stores?
Pins and Bracelets Ballytegan Hoard, Co. Laois
Contain sunflower pins (1, 2 and 4 below)
Disc-headed pins
(No. 3 below)
Triple-bracelet
Tamlaght
Tamlaght
Tamlaght
Killymoon, Co. Tyrone
Gold hoard found during excavation
Dowris Hoard
Found during peat cutting in Offaly in the 1820s. Original number of objects is unknown.
Dowris Hoard
Buckets and Cauldrons
Cauldrons: Type A
Example from Dowris, Co. Offaly.
Horns
Cast bronze horns
Played using circular breathing
Two main types:
Horns: Class 1
Generally cast as a single piece
Mainly found in the north-east
Horns: Class 2
Occasionally manufactured in a number of sections
Mainly found in the south-west
Distribution of Horns
Dowris is unusual in that both types are represented in the hoard.
Dowris Hoard
Weapons include both swords and spearheads
No. 5 in drawing is a chape (part of a scabbard)
Crotals
Purpose unknown (the term crotal denotes a small bell with an enclosed clapper)
39 from Dowris, one from Co. Antrim
Dowris hoard
Other finds include:
Axes
Chisels
Gouges
Socketed knives
Great Clare Gold Find
Gold found during railway building in 1854 near Mooghaun
Hoard was dispersed after find
Great Clare Gold Find
Some pieces are still being discovered
Great Clare Gold Find
a) 138 penannular bracelets with solid, evenly expanded, terminals. b) 3 penannular bracelets with evenly expanded hollowed terminals. c) 6 gold collars. d) 2 lock-rings. e) 2 penannular neck-rings. f) 3 ingots. g) 2 torcs.
Booleybrien, Co. Clare
Hoards
Hoards
Burton Hoard (Wales)
Single finds LBA
Weapons
Gold ornaments
Weapons
Gold ornaments
Newport, Co. Mayo
Megalithic Tombs, Mounds and Cairns
Megalithic Tombs
Mounds, Cairns, Barrows
Megalithic Tombs
•Megalithic Tombs are those stone monuments erected during prehistory including Court Tombs, Portal Tombs, Passage Tombs, Linkardstown Cists, Wedge Tombs.
•We should also include Stone Circles with this group.
•While we often use the term ‘tomb’ to describe them, the evidence from them suggest more complex uses than simply burial as they seem to have been the focus for other activities and ceremonies.
Megalithic Terms
•Orthostat
•Kerb
•Lintel
•Capstone
Megalithic Tombs
•Broadly speaking, the Passage Tombs, Court Tombs and Portal Tombs are Neolithic in date.
•The Wedge Tombs are mainly Bronze Age in date. Their distribution is also significantly different.
Court Tombs
•Also known as Court Graves, Horned Cairns
•390 examples are known (eg Creggandevesky, in Co Tyrone)
•Various types of court tomb have been identified:
–Dual Court Tombs
–Central Court Tombs
–Transeptal Court Tombs
Court Tombs: Layout
•Divided into two basic parts:
–a long chamber which contains smaller compartments in which remains were deposited
–a large open-space or court at the entrance to the chamber
•Court marked by large standing stones.
•Chamber is roofed by a stone mound which tapered toward the back.
Court Tombs – Distribution Map
Court Tombs - Distribution
•Distribution also reflected in tomb styles.
•In the north-east there is a preference for simple tombs with open crescent shaped courts.
•Elaborate monuments with more complex courts and found in the north-west
Court Tombs – Distribution Map
Note the preference for Central and Full Court tombs in the west
Court Tombs – Full Court Tombs
•Creevykeel, Co. Sligo
Court Tombs – Dual Court Tombs
•Audleystown, Co. Down
•Cohaw, Co. Cavan
Court Tombs - Transeptal
•Behy, Co. Mayo
Court Tombs - Construction
•Where chambers are present, 70% of tombs have less than 2 compartments.
•The cairn is generally retained by a revetment of orthostats
•Court is usually defined by orthostats and occasionally dry-walling
•Chambers can be separated into compartments by jamb-stones and sill-stones
Court Tombs – Finds
•Tombs show a preference in alignment – open court tombs often face between north-east and south-east
•Burnt and unburnt bones have been found in court tombs, but cremation appears to be more common
•Range of pottery and flint often found
–Carinated Bowls, Decoarted Bowls and Bipartite Bowls
–Flint arrowheads, scrapers and knives
Court Tombs - Date
•Dated examples may begin as early as 4000 BC
•Most dated examples suggest construction and use during the period between 3750 BC and 3250 BC
Court Tombs – Houses of the Dead
•One court tomb, at Ballyglass, Co. Mayo, was found to overlie a Neolithic house.
•Some people see Court Tombs as stone versions of contemporary houses, but built as houses of the dead rather than the living.
Portal Tombs
•Also known as Dolmens, Trigaliths, Diarmuid and Grainne’s Bed, Druidical Altars
•174 examples are known
•Most portal tombs are of a simple type although occasional variations have been identified but these are very rare:
–Dual Portal Tombs (e.g. Ballyrenan, Co. Tyrone)
Portal Tombs: Layout
•Usually formed of:
–a rectangular chamber
–Two stones mark either side of the entrance (the portal stones)
–A single large capstone for the roof (occasionally two stones are present)
–Largest capstone is Brownshill in Carlow (100 tons)
•There is often a cairn present, although this is not always the case.
Portal Tombs – Distribution Map
Note large gaps across areas of the midlands, west, south-west and north-east
Portal Tombs - Features
•Dual Portal Tomb at Ballyrenan, Co. Tyrone
•Note blocking stone at front of tomb - Drumanone, Co. Roscommon
Portal Tombs – Finds
•Tombs show no preference in alignment – often they roughly face east or uphill
•Many have stream-side or valley bottom locations
•Mainly burnt bones have been found in portal tombs
•Range of finds from portal tombs includes:
–Carinated Bowls and Bipartite Bowls
–Flint arrowheads, scrapers and knives
–Stone axes
–Beads
Portal Tombs - Date
•Dates seem to be very similar to Court Tombs although the picture isn’t very clear
•Dated examples begin as early as 4000 BC
•Most dated examples suggest use during the period between 3750 BC and 3250 BC
Passage Tombs
•Also known as Passage Graves, Druids Stones
•230 examples are known
•Several basic types of passage tombs have been identified:
–Simple passage tombs
–Cruciform passage tombs
Passage Tombs: Layout
•Usually formed of:
–a circular cairn or kerb circle
–A chamber within the cairn or kerb circle
–A passage providing access to the central chamber
Passage Tombs
•Newgrange, Co. Meath
The Winter Solstice
•Today it is best known for its association with the winter solstice.
•This was only re-discovered during the excavations.
Passage Tombs
•Entrance with decorated stone and famous light box.
Passage Tombs – Distribution Map
•Note gaps in distribution in most of the midlands, south-west and west.
•Also note cemeteries.
Passage Tombs – Simple Passage Tombs
Ballintoy, Co. Antri
Baltinglass Hill, Co. Wicklow
Passage Tombs – Simple Passage Tombs
•Carrowmore, Tomb 7, Co. Sligo
Passage Tombs – Cruciform Tombs
•Cruciform passage tomb at Knowth in Co. Meath
•Note the smaller ‘satellite’ tombs surrounding the main tomb
Passage Tombs - Distribution
•Passage tombs are found singly and in groups (cemeteries)
•Main passage tomb cemeteries are in the Boyne valley (Meath), Loughcrew (Meath)l, Carrowkeel (Sligo), Carrowmore (Sligo)
•A cemetery is usually defined as a group of more than 5
Passage Tombs – Finds
•Tombs often seem to be aligned towards significant astronomies such as the winter solstice
•Mainly burnt bones have been found in passage tombs
•Large stone basins are known
•Range of finds from passage tombs includes:
–Carrowkeel Ware pottery
–Beads, pendants, bone and antler pins
–Stone Balls
Passage Tombs - Date
•Some dated examples begin as early as 5500 BC – this is often challenged
•Most dated examples suggest use during the period after 3500 BC and before 2850 BC
•The great passage tombs like Knowth and Newgrange were built between 3250 BC and 2950 BC.
Wedge Tombs
•Also known as Gallery Graves
•505 examples are known
•Two basic types of wedge tombs have been identified:
–Short gallery (Parknabinnia, Co. Clare)
–Long gallery (Ballyedmonduff, Co. Dublin)
Wedge Tombs: Layout
•Usually formed of:
–A gallery
–An outer revetment
–Generally roofed with large stones decreasing in size from front to rear
Wedge Tombs – Distribution Map
Note that wedge tombs do not observe the northern preference of other megalithic tombs
Wedge Tombs – Finds
•Tombs show no preference in alignment – often they roughly face west
•Burnt and unburnt bones have been found in wedge tombs
•Range of finds from wedge tombs is very limited and includes:
–Beaker Pottery
–Barbed and Tanged arrowheads
Wedge Tombs - Date
•Dated examples may start as early as 3000 BC, but it seems more likely most are built after around 2600 BC.
•Most dated examples suggest construction and use during the period between 2600 BC and 1400 BC
•It is possible that some of the stone circles built in the south-west are a late variant style of Wedge Tomb.
Stone Circles: Drombeg, Co. Cork
•Radiocarbon dated to the Late Bronze Age
Linkardstown Cists
•Small group of tombs known which are recognised as a distinct group of individual burials
•Named after first excavated example at Linkardstown in Co. Carlow
•Sites have a central burial chamber located in the centre of a cairn or mound which is not accessed via a passage
•Most dated examples suggest use during the period between 3600 BC and 3300 BC
Linkardstown Cists
•Jerpoint West, Co. Kilkenny showing typical form of central burial chamber: i.e. a polygonal stone cist
•Baunogenasraid, Carlow
Linkardstown Cists
•A group of definite Linkardstown-type burials are known
•Some related ‘individual’ Neolithic burials are also known and considered to be related
Linkardstown Cists – Finds
•Mainly unburnt bones have been found in Linkardstown Cists, mainly of adult males
•Range of finds from Linkardstown Cists includes:
–Bipartite Bowls
Linkardstown Cists
•Poulawack, Co. Clare
•Linkardstown Cist phases – central burial cists covered by a cairn of stones and encircled by a kerb
Linkardstown Cists
•Poulawack, Co. Clare – Typical Linkardstown Cist – not recognisable prior to excavation
Linkardstown Cists
•Poulawack, Co. Clare
•Excavation revealed multiple phases of use
Ballintruer More, Co Wicklow
Clogher Lower (Co. Roscommon)
•Typical mound – Bronze Age in date.
•Central burial sealed by cairn/earthen mound.
Clogher Lower (Co. Roscommon)
Ballinagore (Co. Wicklow)
Knockast, Co. Westmeath
Individual Burial
•CISTS
Segmented Cist
Laughanstown, Co. Dublin
Barrows
•A number of types of burial monument are defined by the presence of a circular ditch
•These might enclose a central burial or include numerous burials
Cherrywood,Co Dublin:Typical Barrow
After excavation – viewed from the north.
Late Bronze Age burial and pit F77
Child burial
Barrow with capping and cremation deposits removed and pit F77 exposed (viewed from north-west)
Pit F77 with circle of stones and cattle teeth in situ
Plan showing location of cremation deposits overlying capping and within ditch fill (see key).
Viewed from the north-west. This is the barrow with the cremated ditch deposits visible and the clay capping in situ.
Beads from cremations with ditch fill
Mounds, Cairns, Barrows
Megalithic Tombs
•Megalithic Tombs are those stone monuments erected during prehistory including Court Tombs, Portal Tombs, Passage Tombs, Linkardstown Cists, Wedge Tombs.
•We should also include Stone Circles with this group.
•While we often use the term ‘tomb’ to describe them, the evidence from them suggest more complex uses than simply burial as they seem to have been the focus for other activities and ceremonies.
Megalithic Terms
•Orthostat
•Kerb
•Lintel
•Capstone
Megalithic Tombs
•Broadly speaking, the Passage Tombs, Court Tombs and Portal Tombs are Neolithic in date.
•The Wedge Tombs are mainly Bronze Age in date. Their distribution is also significantly different.
Court Tombs
•Also known as Court Graves, Horned Cairns
•390 examples are known (eg Creggandevesky, in Co Tyrone)
•Various types of court tomb have been identified:
–Dual Court Tombs
–Central Court Tombs
–Transeptal Court Tombs
Court Tombs: Layout
•Divided into two basic parts:
–a long chamber which contains smaller compartments in which remains were deposited
–a large open-space or court at the entrance to the chamber
•Court marked by large standing stones.
•Chamber is roofed by a stone mound which tapered toward the back.
Court Tombs – Distribution Map
Court Tombs - Distribution
•Distribution also reflected in tomb styles.
•In the north-east there is a preference for simple tombs with open crescent shaped courts.
•Elaborate monuments with more complex courts and found in the north-west
Court Tombs – Distribution Map
Note the preference for Central and Full Court tombs in the west
Court Tombs – Full Court Tombs
•Creevykeel, Co. Sligo
Court Tombs – Dual Court Tombs
•Audleystown, Co. Down
•Cohaw, Co. Cavan
Court Tombs - Transeptal
•Behy, Co. Mayo
Court Tombs - Construction
•Where chambers are present, 70% of tombs have less than 2 compartments.
•The cairn is generally retained by a revetment of orthostats
•Court is usually defined by orthostats and occasionally dry-walling
•Chambers can be separated into compartments by jamb-stones and sill-stones
Court Tombs – Finds
•Tombs show a preference in alignment – open court tombs often face between north-east and south-east
•Burnt and unburnt bones have been found in court tombs, but cremation appears to be more common
•Range of pottery and flint often found
–Carinated Bowls, Decoarted Bowls and Bipartite Bowls
–Flint arrowheads, scrapers and knives
Court Tombs - Date
•Dated examples may begin as early as 4000 BC
•Most dated examples suggest construction and use during the period between 3750 BC and 3250 BC
Court Tombs – Houses of the Dead
•One court tomb, at Ballyglass, Co. Mayo, was found to overlie a Neolithic house.
•Some people see Court Tombs as stone versions of contemporary houses, but built as houses of the dead rather than the living.
Portal Tombs
•Also known as Dolmens, Trigaliths, Diarmuid and Grainne’s Bed, Druidical Altars
•174 examples are known
•Most portal tombs are of a simple type although occasional variations have been identified but these are very rare:
–Dual Portal Tombs (e.g. Ballyrenan, Co. Tyrone)
Portal Tombs: Layout
•Usually formed of:
–a rectangular chamber
–Two stones mark either side of the entrance (the portal stones)
–A single large capstone for the roof (occasionally two stones are present)
–Largest capstone is Brownshill in Carlow (100 tons)
•There is often a cairn present, although this is not always the case.
Portal Tombs – Distribution Map
Note large gaps across areas of the midlands, west, south-west and north-east
Portal Tombs - Features
•Dual Portal Tomb at Ballyrenan, Co. Tyrone
•Note blocking stone at front of tomb - Drumanone, Co. Roscommon
Portal Tombs – Finds
•Tombs show no preference in alignment – often they roughly face east or uphill
•Many have stream-side or valley bottom locations
•Mainly burnt bones have been found in portal tombs
•Range of finds from portal tombs includes:
–Carinated Bowls and Bipartite Bowls
–Flint arrowheads, scrapers and knives
–Stone axes
–Beads
Portal Tombs - Date
•Dates seem to be very similar to Court Tombs although the picture isn’t very clear
•Dated examples begin as early as 4000 BC
•Most dated examples suggest use during the period between 3750 BC and 3250 BC
Passage Tombs
•Also known as Passage Graves, Druids Stones
•230 examples are known
•Several basic types of passage tombs have been identified:
–Simple passage tombs
–Cruciform passage tombs
Passage Tombs: Layout
•Usually formed of:
–a circular cairn or kerb circle
–A chamber within the cairn or kerb circle
–A passage providing access to the central chamber
Passage Tombs
•Newgrange, Co. Meath
The Winter Solstice
•Today it is best known for its association with the winter solstice.
•This was only re-discovered during the excavations.
Passage Tombs
•Entrance with decorated stone and famous light box.
Passage Tombs – Distribution Map
•Note gaps in distribution in most of the midlands, south-west and west.
•Also note cemeteries.
Passage Tombs – Simple Passage Tombs
Ballintoy, Co. Antri
Baltinglass Hill, Co. Wicklow
Passage Tombs – Simple Passage Tombs
•Carrowmore, Tomb 7, Co. Sligo
Passage Tombs – Cruciform Tombs
•Cruciform passage tomb at Knowth in Co. Meath
•Note the smaller ‘satellite’ tombs surrounding the main tomb
Passage Tombs - Distribution
•Passage tombs are found singly and in groups (cemeteries)
•Main passage tomb cemeteries are in the Boyne valley (Meath), Loughcrew (Meath)l, Carrowkeel (Sligo), Carrowmore (Sligo)
•A cemetery is usually defined as a group of more than 5
Passage Tombs – Finds
•Tombs often seem to be aligned towards significant astronomies such as the winter solstice
•Mainly burnt bones have been found in passage tombs
•Large stone basins are known
•Range of finds from passage tombs includes:
–Carrowkeel Ware pottery
–Beads, pendants, bone and antler pins
–Stone Balls
Passage Tombs - Date
•Some dated examples begin as early as 5500 BC – this is often challenged
•Most dated examples suggest use during the period after 3500 BC and before 2850 BC
•The great passage tombs like Knowth and Newgrange were built between 3250 BC and 2950 BC.
Wedge Tombs
•Also known as Gallery Graves
•505 examples are known
•Two basic types of wedge tombs have been identified:
–Short gallery (Parknabinnia, Co. Clare)
–Long gallery (Ballyedmonduff, Co. Dublin)
Wedge Tombs: Layout
•Usually formed of:
–A gallery
–An outer revetment
–Generally roofed with large stones decreasing in size from front to rear
Wedge Tombs – Distribution Map
Note that wedge tombs do not observe the northern preference of other megalithic tombs
Wedge Tombs – Finds
•Tombs show no preference in alignment – often they roughly face west
•Burnt and unburnt bones have been found in wedge tombs
•Range of finds from wedge tombs is very limited and includes:
–Beaker Pottery
–Barbed and Tanged arrowheads
Wedge Tombs - Date
•Dated examples may start as early as 3000 BC, but it seems more likely most are built after around 2600 BC.
•Most dated examples suggest construction and use during the period between 2600 BC and 1400 BC
•It is possible that some of the stone circles built in the south-west are a late variant style of Wedge Tomb.
Stone Circles: Drombeg, Co. Cork
•Radiocarbon dated to the Late Bronze Age
Linkardstown Cists
•Small group of tombs known which are recognised as a distinct group of individual burials
•Named after first excavated example at Linkardstown in Co. Carlow
•Sites have a central burial chamber located in the centre of a cairn or mound which is not accessed via a passage
•Most dated examples suggest use during the period between 3600 BC and 3300 BC
Linkardstown Cists
•Jerpoint West, Co. Kilkenny showing typical form of central burial chamber: i.e. a polygonal stone cist
•Baunogenasraid, Carlow
Linkardstown Cists
•A group of definite Linkardstown-type burials are known
•Some related ‘individual’ Neolithic burials are also known and considered to be related
Linkardstown Cists – Finds
•Mainly unburnt bones have been found in Linkardstown Cists, mainly of adult males
•Range of finds from Linkardstown Cists includes:
–Bipartite Bowls
Linkardstown Cists
•Poulawack, Co. Clare
•Linkardstown Cist phases – central burial cists covered by a cairn of stones and encircled by a kerb
Linkardstown Cists
•Poulawack, Co. Clare – Typical Linkardstown Cist – not recognisable prior to excavation
Linkardstown Cists
•Poulawack, Co. Clare
•Excavation revealed multiple phases of use
Ballintruer More, Co Wicklow
Clogher Lower (Co. Roscommon)
•Typical mound – Bronze Age in date.
•Central burial sealed by cairn/earthen mound.
Clogher Lower (Co. Roscommon)
Ballinagore (Co. Wicklow)
Knockast, Co. Westmeath
Individual Burial
•CISTS
Segmented Cist
Laughanstown, Co. Dublin
Barrows
•A number of types of burial monument are defined by the presence of a circular ditch
•These might enclose a central burial or include numerous burials
Cherrywood,Co Dublin:Typical Barrow
After excavation – viewed from the north.
Late Bronze Age burial and pit F77
Child burial
Barrow with capping and cremation deposits removed and pit F77 exposed (viewed from north-west)
Pit F77 with circle of stones and cattle teeth in situ
Plan showing location of cremation deposits overlying capping and within ditch fill (see key).
Viewed from the north-west. This is the barrow with the cremated ditch deposits visible and the clay capping in situ.
Beads from cremations with ditch fill
Stone Circles and Rock Art
Stones Circles, Standing Stones, Alignments, Rock Art…
Stone Circles
•There are various types of stone circle in Ireland:
–Great Circles
–Embanked Circles
–Northern-type(s)
–Multiple Stone Circles
–Recumbent Stone Circles
–Stone Circles with Boulder burials
–Five Posters
–Four Posters
Stone Circles - Terminology
Great Circles: Newgrange, Co. Meath
•The Great Circle at Newgrange
Newgrange – The Great Circle
Newgrange – The Great Circle
•There are 12 surviving standing stones around the mound of Newgrange out of a possible original 35 to 38 orthostats.
•The Great Circle has an average diameter of 103.6m (340 ft), which is larger than the diameter of Stonehenge, the outer bank of which is 97.5m (320 ft).
•The stones consist of greywacke, which is a type of sandstone, as well as limestone, granite and other igneous rocks and stand at a height of approximately 2 metres each
Newgrange, Co. Meath
•Stones in front of the tomb’s entrance.
Embanked Circles - Beltany, Co. Donegal
•Stones stand on a raised bank.
Embanked Circles - Beltany, Co. Donegal
•The ring is 44.2m (145ft) in diameter and still contains 64 stones, though originally there were eighty or more
Embanked Circles - Beltany, Co. Donegal
•Note the entrance in the top slide (bottom left of the circle).
•This is also visible in the bottom photo.
Embanked Stone Circle:Athgreaney, The Pipers Stones, Co. Wicklow
Embanked Stone Circle:Castleruddery, Co. Wicklow
These ‘embanked’ stone circles are very similar to henge monuments and appear to be of the same sort of date (i.e. Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age).
Embanked Stone Circle:Grange, Co. Limerick
•Excavated in the 1940s.
•Appears to date to the Bronze Age
Embanked Stone Circle:Grange, Co. Limerick
•Embanked stone circles show many of the symmetrical features of henge monuments.
Ballynahatty, Co. Down (Henge)
Northern Type(s)
•While a lot of stone circles are known from the northern half of Ireland – the various types have not been properly studied.
•There are a number of early circles which may be embanked circles (other than Beltany)
•The remainder are best described individually!
Similar to Breton circles called Fer-aux-chevaux
Stonehenge – Bluestone phase
Ballynoe, Co. Down
Ballynoe, Co. Down
Copney, Co. Tyrone
Copney: Circle A
Beaghmore: Site B
Along alignment towards B
Beaghmore: Site D
Beaghmore: Site E
Drumskinny, Co. Fermanagh
Four-Poster: Mullaghmore, Co. Down
•Four-Poster Circle
•Excavation produced traces of a cremation in a bucket-shaped pot.
Four-Poster: Mullaghmore, Co. Down
•Mullaghmore as excavated: M marks the spot where the bones of an adult male cremation were recovered, C is where the similar remains of a child were recovered.
Ring ditch 2 burial
•Oval in plan 6 by 5m
•Central burial used twice
•First burial a small cist, contained remains of an adult male 35 years+
•The second burial an adult 35 years +
•Capstone recovered from ditch
•No associated funerary vessel
•Four post holes surrounding central burial
•Dated Cal BC 1380-920
A Four-Poster in a barrow at Loughbrickland, Co. Down
Multiple Stone Circles: Drombeg, Co. Cork
Bohonagh, Co. Cork – Boulder Burial
•Boulder Burial located close to the Stone Circle
Bawngare, Co. Cork
•Boulder burial. Similar to an out of proportion portal tomb.
Kenmare, Stone Circle and Boulder Burial
Five Stone Circle: Oughtihery/Keel Cross, Co. Cork
•Has same symmetry as recumbent and multiple stone circles.
Five Stone Circles
Kealkil, Co. CorkFive Poster with Stone Row in background
Stone Circles: Dating Evidence
•The different types of circle appear to be of different dates.
•The Great Circle at Newgrange and the embanked circles seem to date to around 3000-2000 BC
•Many of the Northern types appear to date to 2000-1500 BC
•The Four-Poster and many of the types from Cork and Kerry date to the Late Bronze Age (1200-800 BC)
Maughanasilly, Co. Cork: Stone Row
Standing Stones: The Rocking Stone, Carrowkeel (Sligo)
Standing Stones:The Longstone, Co. Armagh
Standing Stone:Rathiddy, Co. Louth
Rock Art:Reyfad, Co. Fermanagh
Rock Art: Mullagharoy, Co. Meath
Rock Art:The Witches Stone, Oldbridge, Co. Wicklow
Rock Art:Clearagh, Co. Cork
Kealduff Upper, Co. Kerry
Stone with rock art from pit in the interior ofHaughey’s Fort, Co. Armagh
•Private and public art
Turoe Stone, Co. Galway
Killycluggin, Co. Cavan
Boa Island, Co. Fermanagh
Stone Circles
•There are various types of stone circle in Ireland:
–Great Circles
–Embanked Circles
–Northern-type(s)
–Multiple Stone Circles
–Recumbent Stone Circles
–Stone Circles with Boulder burials
–Five Posters
–Four Posters
Stone Circles - Terminology
Great Circles: Newgrange, Co. Meath
•The Great Circle at Newgrange
Newgrange – The Great Circle
Newgrange – The Great Circle
•There are 12 surviving standing stones around the mound of Newgrange out of a possible original 35 to 38 orthostats.
•The Great Circle has an average diameter of 103.6m (340 ft), which is larger than the diameter of Stonehenge, the outer bank of which is 97.5m (320 ft).
•The stones consist of greywacke, which is a type of sandstone, as well as limestone, granite and other igneous rocks and stand at a height of approximately 2 metres each
Newgrange, Co. Meath
•Stones in front of the tomb’s entrance.
Embanked Circles - Beltany, Co. Donegal
•Stones stand on a raised bank.
Embanked Circles - Beltany, Co. Donegal
•The ring is 44.2m (145ft) in diameter and still contains 64 stones, though originally there were eighty or more
Embanked Circles - Beltany, Co. Donegal
•Note the entrance in the top slide (bottom left of the circle).
•This is also visible in the bottom photo.
Embanked Stone Circle:Athgreaney, The Pipers Stones, Co. Wicklow
Embanked Stone Circle:Castleruddery, Co. Wicklow
These ‘embanked’ stone circles are very similar to henge monuments and appear to be of the same sort of date (i.e. Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age).
Embanked Stone Circle:Grange, Co. Limerick
•Excavated in the 1940s.
•Appears to date to the Bronze Age
Embanked Stone Circle:Grange, Co. Limerick
•Embanked stone circles show many of the symmetrical features of henge monuments.
Ballynahatty, Co. Down (Henge)
Northern Type(s)
•While a lot of stone circles are known from the northern half of Ireland – the various types have not been properly studied.
•There are a number of early circles which may be embanked circles (other than Beltany)
•The remainder are best described individually!
Similar to Breton circles called Fer-aux-chevaux
Stonehenge – Bluestone phase
Ballynoe, Co. Down
Ballynoe, Co. Down
Copney, Co. Tyrone
Copney: Circle A
Beaghmore: Site B
Along alignment towards B
Beaghmore: Site D
Beaghmore: Site E
Drumskinny, Co. Fermanagh
Four-Poster: Mullaghmore, Co. Down
•Four-Poster Circle
•Excavation produced traces of a cremation in a bucket-shaped pot.
Four-Poster: Mullaghmore, Co. Down
•Mullaghmore as excavated: M marks the spot where the bones of an adult male cremation were recovered, C is where the similar remains of a child were recovered.
Ring ditch 2 burial
•Oval in plan 6 by 5m
•Central burial used twice
•First burial a small cist, contained remains of an adult male 35 years+
•The second burial an adult 35 years +
•Capstone recovered from ditch
•No associated funerary vessel
•Four post holes surrounding central burial
•Dated Cal BC 1380-920
A Four-Poster in a barrow at Loughbrickland, Co. Down
Multiple Stone Circles: Drombeg, Co. Cork
Bohonagh, Co. Cork – Boulder Burial
•Boulder Burial located close to the Stone Circle
Bawngare, Co. Cork
•Boulder burial. Similar to an out of proportion portal tomb.
Kenmare, Stone Circle and Boulder Burial
Five Stone Circle: Oughtihery/Keel Cross, Co. Cork
•Has same symmetry as recumbent and multiple stone circles.
Five Stone Circles
Kealkil, Co. CorkFive Poster with Stone Row in background
Stone Circles: Dating Evidence
•The different types of circle appear to be of different dates.
•The Great Circle at Newgrange and the embanked circles seem to date to around 3000-2000 BC
•Many of the Northern types appear to date to 2000-1500 BC
•The Four-Poster and many of the types from Cork and Kerry date to the Late Bronze Age (1200-800 BC)
Maughanasilly, Co. Cork: Stone Row
Standing Stones: The Rocking Stone, Carrowkeel (Sligo)
Standing Stones:The Longstone, Co. Armagh
Standing Stone:Rathiddy, Co. Louth
Rock Art:Reyfad, Co. Fermanagh
Rock Art: Mullagharoy, Co. Meath
Rock Art:The Witches Stone, Oldbridge, Co. Wicklow
Rock Art:Clearagh, Co. Cork
Kealduff Upper, Co. Kerry
Stone with rock art from pit in the interior ofHaughey’s Fort, Co. Armagh
•Private and public art
Turoe Stone, Co. Galway
Killycluggin, Co. Cavan
Boa Island, Co. Fermanagh
Bronze Age Burial
Individual Burial in Ireland during the Bronze Age
Bronze Age: Chronology
•The Bronze Age begins around 2350 BC in Ireland
•First evidence of use of copper dates to around 2350 BC
•By 2000 BC, copper is being alloyed with tin to make bronze
•Gold appears around this time as well
•Conventionally the Bronze Age is divided into three phases:
–Early (2350 BC to 1700 BC);
–Middle (1700 BC to 1200 BC)
–Late (1200 BC to 700 BC).
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Individual burials
•Flat axes
•Tanged daggers
•Barbed and tanged arrowheads
•Decorated pottery
•Archers wristguards
•V-perforated buttons
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Individual burials
•Flat axes
•Tanged daggers
•Barbed and tanged arrowheads
•Decorated pottery
•Archers wristguards
•V-perforated buttons
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Individual burials
•Flat axes
•Tanged daggers
•Barbed and tanged arrowheads
•Decorated pottery
•Archers wristguards
•V-perforated buttons
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Individual burials
•Flat axes
•Tanged daggers
•Barbed and tanged arrowheads
•Decorated pottery
•Archers wristguards
•V-perforated buttons
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Individual burials
•Flat axes
•Decorated Pottery
•Tanged daggers
•Barbed and tanged
arrowheads
•Decorated pottery
•Archers wristguards
•V-perforated buttons
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Individual burials
•Flat axes
•Decorated Pottery
•Tanged daggers
•Barbed and tanged
arrowheads
•Decorated pottery
•Archers wristguards
•V-perforated buttons
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•GOLD
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•GOLD
Lunulae
Two main types:
Classical (heavily decorated, symmetrical), from Killarney, Co. Kerry
Unaccomplished (i.e. little decoration, asymmetric) as shown here from a hoard of four from Dunfierny in Co. Kildare
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Halberds
•Battleaxes
Pottery
Bowl Tradition pottery
Vase Tradition pottery
Urns from the Vase Tradition
Collared Urn (Tara, Co. Meath)
Cordoned Urn (Gortlush, Co. Donegal)
Ballinagore (Co. Wicklow)
Finds associated with Collared Urns
Finds associated with Cordoned Urns
Razors found with Cordoned Urns
Faience Beads
Burial Mounds
•Poulawack, Co. Clare
Burial Mounds
•Poulawack, Co. Clare
•Excavation revealed multiple phases of use
Poulawack, Co. Clare
Clogher Lower (Co. Roscommon)
•Typical mound – Bronze Age in date.
•Central burial sealed by cairn/earthen mound.
Clogher Lower (Co. Roscommon)
Ballinagore (Co. Wicklow)
Knockast, Co. Westmeath
Knockast, Co. Westmeath
Individual Burial
•CISTS
Segmented Cist
Laughanstown, Co. Dublin
Ballygalley,County Antrim
Death and Burial in continental Europe
Variation in practice across Europe
Early Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Ireland, Britain, Southern Russia, Southern Scandinavia, Northern Germany, Netherlands, Brittany, East Hungary, West Serbia, Albania
•Flat Inhumation Cemetery: Central Europe, Italy, Central Russia, Northern Russia.
•Cremation Cemetery: Hungary
Early Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Ireland, Britain, Southern Russia, Southern Scandinavia, Northern Germany, Netherlands, Brittany, East Hungary, West Serbia, Albania
•Novaya Kvasnikovka, Volgograd (kurgan 4, burial 5) – 2000 BC
Early Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Novaya Kvasnikovka, Volgograd (kurgan 4, burial 5) – 2000 BC
Early Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
Early Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Ireland, Britain, Southern Russia, Southern Scandinavia, Northern Germany, Netherlands, Brittany, East Hungary, West Serbia, Albania
•Chastiye, Kurgan 20, Lower Don (Russia)– 2000 BC
Kurgan, Aliaga Steppe, Ukraine
Kurgan Vizir, Romania
Normanton Down barrow cemetery
Bush Barrow
Bush Barrow Finds
Golden Barrow
Golden Barrow
Helmsdorf, Germany (EBA)
Leubingen, Germany (EBA)
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Inhumation Cemetery: Rare
•Cremation Cemetery: Rare
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Egtved kommune, Denmark
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Egtved kommune, Denmark
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Egtved kommune, Denmark
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Egtved kommune, Denmark
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Boat-shaped graves (Sweden)
Lugnaro, Sweden
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Toterfout (Netherlands)
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Toterfout (Netherlands)
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Balkans (various)
Late Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe (rare), Parts of Balkans, Steppe zone
•Inhumation Cemetery: Central Europe (rare)
•Cremation Cemetery: Ireland and Britain, Central Europe, Italy, Northern Europe, France, Spain, most of the Balkans
Late Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Inhumation Cemetery: Central Europe (rare)
•Vyčapy-Opatovce
Late Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Cremation Cemetery: Ireland and Britain, Central Europe, Italy, Northern Europe, France, Spain, most of the Balkans
•Vollmarshausen (Germany) - Urnfield Cemetery
Vollmarshausen - Urnfield Cemetery
Cemeteries
•Provide useful data on population health and general demographics.
•Estimated life expectancy in Britain was 31.3 (male) and 29.9 (female). Only 3.3% live to see 50.
•Central Europeans – life expectancy poor beyond 40, but in Iberia it is a different picture.
Thapsos, Sicily
Tholos, Mycenae
The "Agamemnon" MaskGold, from Tomb V at Mycenae Sixteenth century BC
Bronze Age: Chronology
•The Bronze Age begins around 2350 BC in Ireland
•First evidence of use of copper dates to around 2350 BC
•By 2000 BC, copper is being alloyed with tin to make bronze
•Gold appears around this time as well
•Conventionally the Bronze Age is divided into three phases:
–Early (2350 BC to 1700 BC);
–Middle (1700 BC to 1200 BC)
–Late (1200 BC to 700 BC).
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Individual burials
•Flat axes
•Tanged daggers
•Barbed and tanged arrowheads
•Decorated pottery
•Archers wristguards
•V-perforated buttons
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Individual burials
•Flat axes
•Tanged daggers
•Barbed and tanged arrowheads
•Decorated pottery
•Archers wristguards
•V-perforated buttons
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Individual burials
•Flat axes
•Tanged daggers
•Barbed and tanged arrowheads
•Decorated pottery
•Archers wristguards
•V-perforated buttons
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Individual burials
•Flat axes
•Tanged daggers
•Barbed and tanged arrowheads
•Decorated pottery
•Archers wristguards
•V-perforated buttons
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Individual burials
•Flat axes
•Decorated Pottery
•Tanged daggers
•Barbed and tanged
arrowheads
•Decorated pottery
•Archers wristguards
•V-perforated buttons
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Individual burials
•Flat axes
•Decorated Pottery
•Tanged daggers
•Barbed and tanged
arrowheads
•Decorated pottery
•Archers wristguards
•V-perforated buttons
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•GOLD
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•GOLD
Lunulae
Two main types:
Classical (heavily decorated, symmetrical), from Killarney, Co. Kerry
Unaccomplished (i.e. little decoration, asymmetric) as shown here from a hoard of four from Dunfierny in Co. Kildare
Characteristics of the Early Bronze Age
•Halberds
•Battleaxes
Pottery
Bowl Tradition pottery
Vase Tradition pottery
Urns from the Vase Tradition
Collared Urn (Tara, Co. Meath)
Cordoned Urn (Gortlush, Co. Donegal)
Ballinagore (Co. Wicklow)
Finds associated with Collared Urns
Finds associated with Cordoned Urns
Razors found with Cordoned Urns
Faience Beads
Burial Mounds
•Poulawack, Co. Clare
Burial Mounds
•Poulawack, Co. Clare
•Excavation revealed multiple phases of use
Poulawack, Co. Clare
Clogher Lower (Co. Roscommon)
•Typical mound – Bronze Age in date.
•Central burial sealed by cairn/earthen mound.
Clogher Lower (Co. Roscommon)
Ballinagore (Co. Wicklow)
Knockast, Co. Westmeath
Knockast, Co. Westmeath
Individual Burial
•CISTS
Segmented Cist
Laughanstown, Co. Dublin
Ballygalley,County Antrim
Death and Burial in continental Europe
Variation in practice across Europe
Early Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Ireland, Britain, Southern Russia, Southern Scandinavia, Northern Germany, Netherlands, Brittany, East Hungary, West Serbia, Albania
•Flat Inhumation Cemetery: Central Europe, Italy, Central Russia, Northern Russia.
•Cremation Cemetery: Hungary
Early Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Ireland, Britain, Southern Russia, Southern Scandinavia, Northern Germany, Netherlands, Brittany, East Hungary, West Serbia, Albania
•Novaya Kvasnikovka, Volgograd (kurgan 4, burial 5) – 2000 BC
Early Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Novaya Kvasnikovka, Volgograd (kurgan 4, burial 5) – 2000 BC
Early Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
Early Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Ireland, Britain, Southern Russia, Southern Scandinavia, Northern Germany, Netherlands, Brittany, East Hungary, West Serbia, Albania
•Chastiye, Kurgan 20, Lower Don (Russia)– 2000 BC
Kurgan, Aliaga Steppe, Ukraine
Kurgan Vizir, Romania
Normanton Down barrow cemetery
Bush Barrow
Bush Barrow Finds
Golden Barrow
Golden Barrow
Helmsdorf, Germany (EBA)
Leubingen, Germany (EBA)
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Inhumation Cemetery: Rare
•Cremation Cemetery: Rare
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Egtved kommune, Denmark
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Egtved kommune, Denmark
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Egtved kommune, Denmark
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Egtved kommune, Denmark
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Boat-shaped graves (Sweden)
Lugnaro, Sweden
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Toterfout (Netherlands)
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Toterfout (Netherlands)
Middle Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe, Northern Europe, Pontic Zone, Parts of the Balkans
•Balkans (various)
Late Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Tumulus Burials (i.e. in a mound, barrow, cairn or kurgan): Central Europe (rare), Parts of Balkans, Steppe zone
•Inhumation Cemetery: Central Europe (rare)
•Cremation Cemetery: Ireland and Britain, Central Europe, Italy, Northern Europe, France, Spain, most of the Balkans
Late Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Inhumation Cemetery: Central Europe (rare)
•Vyčapy-Opatovce
Late Bronze Age: Dominant Burial Rites
•Cremation Cemetery: Ireland and Britain, Central Europe, Italy, Northern Europe, France, Spain, most of the Balkans
•Vollmarshausen (Germany) - Urnfield Cemetery
Vollmarshausen - Urnfield Cemetery
Cemeteries
•Provide useful data on population health and general demographics.
•Estimated life expectancy in Britain was 31.3 (male) and 29.9 (female). Only 3.3% live to see 50.
•Central Europeans – life expectancy poor beyond 40, but in Iberia it is a different picture.
Thapsos, Sicily
Tholos, Mycenae
The "Agamemnon" MaskGold, from Tomb V at Mycenae Sixteenth century BC
Trackways in Ireland
TRACKWAYS
Valentia Island Tetrapod Trackway, County Kerry
A series of the footprints of a tetrapod - a large amphibian animal that walked on soft sediment 385 million years ago. A unique record of the transition of life from the sea to land.
Valentia Island, Tetrapod Trackway, County Kerry
First major modern find was Corlea in Co. Longford
This was dated by dendrochronology to 148 BC
Corlea
Excavated by Prof. Barry Raftery from UCD
This led to some international debate over the lack of research in Irelands bogs.
Trackways in Bogs
Further examination of the Corlea part of the Mountdillon Bogs revealed further sites
Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (IAWU)
IAWU was set up in UCD in the early 1990s and a programme of bog surveys was started.
Corlea Visitor Centre
A portion of the Corlea trackway was preserved and put on display in a visitor centre in the bog.
Function?
Their function isn’t always as obvious as we would expect.
Some trackways bridge a chain of bogs.
Some are designed to use part of the bog.
Cooleeny, Site 31, Co. Tipperary
Dated to c. 620 BC, crosses bog.
Cooleeny, Site 31, Co. Tipperary
Cooleeny, Site 31, Co. Tipperary
Killoran, Site 18, Co. Tipperary
Dates to c. 1450 BC – crosses bog from east to west.
Killoran, Site 18, Co. Tipperary
Trackways that don’t cross a bog…
Some trackways are built to access the resources available in bogs (trees, bushes, water courses, wild-life).
Some structures are built as dry islands for various uses.
Trackways that don’t cross a bog…
Derryfadda, Co. Tipperary
Short trackway
Trackways that don’t cross a bog…
Derryfadda, Site 23, Co. Tipperary
Short trackway made of planks
Dated to 1590 BC
Trackways that don’t cross a bog…
Cooleeny, Site 306, Co. Tipperary
Short trackway using mixture of brushwood and roundwood (but no planks)
Trackways that don’t cross a bog…
Killoran Site 315, Co. Tipperary
Short trackway incorporating panels of woven wood (hurdles)
Platforms in bogs
Similar to crannogs and other artificial islands but smaller and not permanently occupied.
Post Rows
Sometimes a long line of posts are recorded.
These are often marking off areas of very wet bog.
Killoran Site 54, Co. Tipperary.
Post Row
Derryfadda 209, Co. Tipperary.
Marks off area of very wet bog.
Dates to Late Bronze Age
Trackways have been found dating to all periods
Fenor Bog, Co. Waterford
Building a Trackway
Valentia Island Tetrapod Trackway, County Kerry
A series of the footprints of a tetrapod - a large amphibian animal that walked on soft sediment 385 million years ago. A unique record of the transition of life from the sea to land.
Valentia Island, Tetrapod Trackway, County Kerry
First major modern find was Corlea in Co. Longford
This was dated by dendrochronology to 148 BC
Corlea
Excavated by Prof. Barry Raftery from UCD
This led to some international debate over the lack of research in Irelands bogs.
Trackways in Bogs
Further examination of the Corlea part of the Mountdillon Bogs revealed further sites
Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (IAWU)
IAWU was set up in UCD in the early 1990s and a programme of bog surveys was started.
Corlea Visitor Centre
A portion of the Corlea trackway was preserved and put on display in a visitor centre in the bog.
Function?
Their function isn’t always as obvious as we would expect.
Some trackways bridge a chain of bogs.
Some are designed to use part of the bog.
Cooleeny, Site 31, Co. Tipperary
Dated to c. 620 BC, crosses bog.
Cooleeny, Site 31, Co. Tipperary
Cooleeny, Site 31, Co. Tipperary
Killoran, Site 18, Co. Tipperary
Dates to c. 1450 BC – crosses bog from east to west.
Killoran, Site 18, Co. Tipperary
Trackways that don’t cross a bog…
Some trackways are built to access the resources available in bogs (trees, bushes, water courses, wild-life).
Some structures are built as dry islands for various uses.
Trackways that don’t cross a bog…
Derryfadda, Co. Tipperary
Short trackway
Trackways that don’t cross a bog…
Derryfadda, Site 23, Co. Tipperary
Short trackway made of planks
Dated to 1590 BC
Trackways that don’t cross a bog…
Cooleeny, Site 306, Co. Tipperary
Short trackway using mixture of brushwood and roundwood (but no planks)
Trackways that don’t cross a bog…
Killoran Site 315, Co. Tipperary
Short trackway incorporating panels of woven wood (hurdles)
Platforms in bogs
Similar to crannogs and other artificial islands but smaller and not permanently occupied.
Post Rows
Sometimes a long line of posts are recorded.
These are often marking off areas of very wet bog.
Killoran Site 54, Co. Tipperary.
Post Row
Derryfadda 209, Co. Tipperary.
Marks off area of very wet bog.
Dates to Late Bronze Age
Trackways have been found dating to all periods
Fenor Bog, Co. Waterford
Building a Trackway
Fulachta Fiadh/Burnt Mounds
FULACHT FIADH and BURNT MOUNDS
Burnt Mound v Fulacht Fiadh
Fulacht Fiadh: A horseshoe-shaped or kidney-shaped, mound consisting of fire-cracked stone and charcoal-enriched soil built up around a sunken trough located near or adjacent to a water supply, such as a stream or spring, or in wet marshy areas. The term 'fulacht fia' is ascribed to these sites by Geoffrey Keating. Often associated with cooking, they date primarily, but not exclusively, to the Bronze Age.
Burnt Mound: A burnt mound consists of a circular or irregularly shaped mound of material consisting of burnt stones, ash and charcoal with no surface evidence of a trough or depression. See also fulacht fia.
Keating’s account (from 17th century AD)
'However, from Bealtaine until Samhain, the Fian were obliged to depend solely on the products of their hunting and of the chase … And it was their custom to send their attendants about noon with whatever they had killed in the morning's hunt to an appointed hill …
Keating’s account (from 17th century AD)
… and to kindle raging fires thereon, and put into them a large number of emery stones: and to dig two pits in the yellow clay of the moorland, and put some meat on spits to roast before the fire and to bind another portion of it with súgain in dry bundles, and set it to boil in the larger of the two pits, and keep plying them with the stones that were in the fire … until they were cooked. And these fires were so large that their sites are today in Ireland burnt to blackness, and these are now called Fulacht Fian by the peasantry.
Burnt Mound
Spread of heat shattered stone.
Employ shallow fresh water wells to get water
Cherrywood, Site 3, County Dublin(dated c. 2400-2100 BC)see www.excavations.ie
Killoran, Site 240 (County Tipperary)In Gowen, Ó Néill, Phillips (eds) 2005 Lisheen Mine Archaeological Project. Wordwell
Wells are sometimes lined with wood
These are often referred to as troughs.
Pit and spread of heat-shattered stone.
Killoran Site 26, Co. Tipperary.
Shows typical layout – shattered stone spread around the pit or trough.
What can they tell us?
Where the stones survive from the last use, we can gain some idea of how they were used…
Plot showing the volume of stone required to raise the temperature of 1 litre of water by 1° C, relative to the temperature to which the stone was heated.
Buildings
Some burnt mounds have produced evidence of buildings.
These are simple circular settings of posts
These are simple stone-built buildings.
These are complex, 2-roomed structures.
Drombeg, Co. Cork
Functions other than cooking?
Keatings story ends by saying:
'As to the Fian … each of them stripped off, and tied his shirt around his waist; and they ranged themselves around the second pit … bathing their hair and washing their limbs, and removing their sweat, and then exercising their joints and muscles, thus ridding themselves of their fatigue.
Central America
Charlesland, Co. Wicklow
Panpipes
Dates for Ireland
Burnt Mound v Fulacht Fiadh
Fulacht Fiadh: A horseshoe-shaped or kidney-shaped, mound consisting of fire-cracked stone and charcoal-enriched soil built up around a sunken trough located near or adjacent to a water supply, such as a stream or spring, or in wet marshy areas. The term 'fulacht fia' is ascribed to these sites by Geoffrey Keating. Often associated with cooking, they date primarily, but not exclusively, to the Bronze Age.
Burnt Mound: A burnt mound consists of a circular or irregularly shaped mound of material consisting of burnt stones, ash and charcoal with no surface evidence of a trough or depression. See also fulacht fia.
Keating’s account (from 17th century AD)
'However, from Bealtaine until Samhain, the Fian were obliged to depend solely on the products of their hunting and of the chase … And it was their custom to send their attendants about noon with whatever they had killed in the morning's hunt to an appointed hill …
Keating’s account (from 17th century AD)
… and to kindle raging fires thereon, and put into them a large number of emery stones: and to dig two pits in the yellow clay of the moorland, and put some meat on spits to roast before the fire and to bind another portion of it with súgain in dry bundles, and set it to boil in the larger of the two pits, and keep plying them with the stones that were in the fire … until they were cooked. And these fires were so large that their sites are today in Ireland burnt to blackness, and these are now called Fulacht Fian by the peasantry.
Burnt Mound
Spread of heat shattered stone.
Employ shallow fresh water wells to get water
Cherrywood, Site 3, County Dublin(dated c. 2400-2100 BC)see www.excavations.ie
Killoran, Site 240 (County Tipperary)In Gowen, Ó Néill, Phillips (eds) 2005 Lisheen Mine Archaeological Project. Wordwell
Wells are sometimes lined with wood
These are often referred to as troughs.
Pit and spread of heat-shattered stone.
Killoran Site 26, Co. Tipperary.
Shows typical layout – shattered stone spread around the pit or trough.
What can they tell us?
Where the stones survive from the last use, we can gain some idea of how they were used…
Plot showing the volume of stone required to raise the temperature of 1 litre of water by 1° C, relative to the temperature to which the stone was heated.
Buildings
Some burnt mounds have produced evidence of buildings.
These are simple circular settings of posts
These are simple stone-built buildings.
These are complex, 2-roomed structures.
Drombeg, Co. Cork
Functions other than cooking?
Keatings story ends by saying:
'As to the Fian … each of them stripped off, and tied his shirt around his waist; and they ranged themselves around the second pit … bathing their hair and washing their limbs, and removing their sweat, and then exercising their joints and muscles, thus ridding themselves of their fatigue.
Central America
Charlesland, Co. Wicklow
Panpipes
Dates for Ireland
Neolithic Notes on the Development of Agriculture
Domesticating the wild
The origins of farming in the Levant
In this lecture we will discuss the beginnings of food production, primarily focusing on the region of southwest Asia known as the Levant, but we will also briefly discuss the beginnings of farming in other parts of the world. We will review the various forms of evidence archaeologists have employed to investigate the onset of cereal cultivation and animal domestication from c.10,000 years ago. This will be addressed in relation to several key sites that provided a focus for early agriculture. We will close with a discussion on the different interpretations on how and why these changes may have taken place in the Levant at that particular time.
Key terms and phrases: origins of agriculture, domestication, cultivation, plants and animals, Levant, Natufian, Epi-palaeolithic, tell sites, PPNA/B, Abu Hureyra, Jericho, Çatalhöyük
Marching West
The 'advance of agriculture' across Europe
For the second lecture in this series we will move further west to central and eastern Europe and consider the arrival of neolithic lifeways there. We will discuss a number of key locations and review the main changes as well as continuities from earlier periods. While considering the large scale, global, phenomenon of these developments we will continually hone in on the local events visible in the archaeological record, such as evidence for settlement, material culture and the treatment of the dead.
Key terms and phrases: spread of agriculture, models, colonisation, migration, demic/cultural diffusion, Mediterranean, Cyprus & Crete, the Balkans, Franchthi Cave, Danube Gorges, Lepenski Vir, central and west Mediterranean, cardial ware.
Lecture 10. Longhouse life ? Settlement and daily life in neolithic Europe
This lecture will continue the themes of the previous one but will pay particular attention to aspects of daily life within the so called Linear Potter Culture (LBK) of central and eastern Europe. We will primarily examine the evidence from the longhouse ?villages? so typical of the period from c.5500BC and discuss what this evidence can tell us about people?s lives within and around these settlements. Again we will seek to make inferences about technology, social organisation and ideology, but in slight contrast to the previous lecture aim to focus our analysis at a smaller scale with questions relating to people?s daily life in early neolithic central Europe at its heart. As part of this we will also explore questions of social organisation, conflict and ideology.
Key terms and phrases: Linear Pottery Culture (LBK), Long house settlements, distribution, rapid spread, treatment of the dead, ideology, conflict
Lecture 11. Postcard from the Alps ? Ötzi the Iceman, a case study for neolithic daily life
For the final lecture on the neolithic period in continental Europe we will change our perspective, from looking for clues on a rather broad scale level of the earlier lectures to the material related to one particular discovery. More specifically, we will consider in detail the fate of one later neolithic person who died in the Similaun glacier close to the Italian ? Austrian border around 3300BC. Instead of asking who that person was and what brought him there we will investigate what this find can reveal about the conditions of the lives of people in late neolithic ? also known as Chalcolithic ? central Europe.
Key terms and phrases: ice mummy, Ötzi, organic preservation, equipment, materials, tattoos and body art, conflict
Lecture 12. Neolithic beginnings in Ireland
The first lecture on the neolithic period in Ireland will begin by addressing the question of the earliest evidence for domesticated animals and cultivated cereal crops on the island. We will then move on to discuss other developments of the late fifth and early fourth millennia BC, such as the first use of pottery, the construction of large timber and stone built structures, and changes in lithic technology. We will consider this evidence in the context of contrasting views, interpreting these developments as primarily economic ones on one hand or largely ideologically driven ones on the other.
Key terms and phrases: Island ecology, environmental signatures, elm decline, pollen diagrams, cereal crops, domesticated animals, pottery, lithic artefact technology, timber post built structures, neolithic ?houses?, causewayed enclosures, colonisation, migration, indigenous adoption
Lecture 13. Grand statements in stone ? Irish middle neolithic trends
This lecture will concentrate on the period between c.3600 and 3100BC, best known for the increase and diversification in the construction of large megalithic monuments, with three of the four commonly classified tomb types largely dating to this phase, although at least some of these may have had their origin in preceding centuries. Therefore along with continued construction of rectangular timber structures ? often referred to as neolithic ?houses? ? the use of these monuments suggests some degree of continuation from early neolithic times. We will also address the significance of wide and far reaching exchange links between many parts of Ireland, Britain and continental Europe, which represent another important feature of the archaeology of the fourth millennium BC.
Key terms and phrases: megalithic tombs (passage, court, portal tombs), Linkardstown burials, continuity, exchange networks, stone axe ?trade?, communication
Lecture 14. Continuity and change in late neolithic Ireland
The final lecture in our neolithic series will concentrate of the last five centuries of the period, preceding the arrival of metal working. Once again this phase shows continuity from the earlier middle neolithic but equally into the earlier Bronze Age. While initially passage tombs appear to remain in use we will see that they are oftentimes associated with new pottery styles and also a tendency to create ?ritual complexes? or landscapes. We will also discuss the significance of an increase in open-air ?ceremonial? enclosures. Our exploration of neolithic Ireland will draw to a close with the arrival of the fourth type of megalithic tomb in Ireland and that of beaker pottery. These events, which appear to immediately precede ? or even coincide with ? the development of metallurgy, will provide us with a suitable point from which to reflect on the changes of the preceding 1500 years.
Key terms and phrases: passage tomb complexes, open air enclosure, henges, cursus monuments, grooved ware, wedge tombs, beaker pottery.
The origins of farming in the Levant
In this lecture we will discuss the beginnings of food production, primarily focusing on the region of southwest Asia known as the Levant, but we will also briefly discuss the beginnings of farming in other parts of the world. We will review the various forms of evidence archaeologists have employed to investigate the onset of cereal cultivation and animal domestication from c.10,000 years ago. This will be addressed in relation to several key sites that provided a focus for early agriculture. We will close with a discussion on the different interpretations on how and why these changes may have taken place in the Levant at that particular time.
Key terms and phrases: origins of agriculture, domestication, cultivation, plants and animals, Levant, Natufian, Epi-palaeolithic, tell sites, PPNA/B, Abu Hureyra, Jericho, Çatalhöyük
Marching West
The 'advance of agriculture' across Europe
For the second lecture in this series we will move further west to central and eastern Europe and consider the arrival of neolithic lifeways there. We will discuss a number of key locations and review the main changes as well as continuities from earlier periods. While considering the large scale, global, phenomenon of these developments we will continually hone in on the local events visible in the archaeological record, such as evidence for settlement, material culture and the treatment of the dead.
Key terms and phrases: spread of agriculture, models, colonisation, migration, demic/cultural diffusion, Mediterranean, Cyprus & Crete, the Balkans, Franchthi Cave, Danube Gorges, Lepenski Vir, central and west Mediterranean, cardial ware.
Lecture 10. Longhouse life ? Settlement and daily life in neolithic Europe
This lecture will continue the themes of the previous one but will pay particular attention to aspects of daily life within the so called Linear Potter Culture (LBK) of central and eastern Europe. We will primarily examine the evidence from the longhouse ?villages? so typical of the period from c.5500BC and discuss what this evidence can tell us about people?s lives within and around these settlements. Again we will seek to make inferences about technology, social organisation and ideology, but in slight contrast to the previous lecture aim to focus our analysis at a smaller scale with questions relating to people?s daily life in early neolithic central Europe at its heart. As part of this we will also explore questions of social organisation, conflict and ideology.
Key terms and phrases: Linear Pottery Culture (LBK), Long house settlements, distribution, rapid spread, treatment of the dead, ideology, conflict
Lecture 11. Postcard from the Alps ? Ötzi the Iceman, a case study for neolithic daily life
For the final lecture on the neolithic period in continental Europe we will change our perspective, from looking for clues on a rather broad scale level of the earlier lectures to the material related to one particular discovery. More specifically, we will consider in detail the fate of one later neolithic person who died in the Similaun glacier close to the Italian ? Austrian border around 3300BC. Instead of asking who that person was and what brought him there we will investigate what this find can reveal about the conditions of the lives of people in late neolithic ? also known as Chalcolithic ? central Europe.
Key terms and phrases: ice mummy, Ötzi, organic preservation, equipment, materials, tattoos and body art, conflict
Lecture 12. Neolithic beginnings in Ireland
The first lecture on the neolithic period in Ireland will begin by addressing the question of the earliest evidence for domesticated animals and cultivated cereal crops on the island. We will then move on to discuss other developments of the late fifth and early fourth millennia BC, such as the first use of pottery, the construction of large timber and stone built structures, and changes in lithic technology. We will consider this evidence in the context of contrasting views, interpreting these developments as primarily economic ones on one hand or largely ideologically driven ones on the other.
Key terms and phrases: Island ecology, environmental signatures, elm decline, pollen diagrams, cereal crops, domesticated animals, pottery, lithic artefact technology, timber post built structures, neolithic ?houses?, causewayed enclosures, colonisation, migration, indigenous adoption
Lecture 13. Grand statements in stone ? Irish middle neolithic trends
This lecture will concentrate on the period between c.3600 and 3100BC, best known for the increase and diversification in the construction of large megalithic monuments, with three of the four commonly classified tomb types largely dating to this phase, although at least some of these may have had their origin in preceding centuries. Therefore along with continued construction of rectangular timber structures ? often referred to as neolithic ?houses? ? the use of these monuments suggests some degree of continuation from early neolithic times. We will also address the significance of wide and far reaching exchange links between many parts of Ireland, Britain and continental Europe, which represent another important feature of the archaeology of the fourth millennium BC.
Key terms and phrases: megalithic tombs (passage, court, portal tombs), Linkardstown burials, continuity, exchange networks, stone axe ?trade?, communication
Lecture 14. Continuity and change in late neolithic Ireland
The final lecture in our neolithic series will concentrate of the last five centuries of the period, preceding the arrival of metal working. Once again this phase shows continuity from the earlier middle neolithic but equally into the earlier Bronze Age. While initially passage tombs appear to remain in use we will see that they are oftentimes associated with new pottery styles and also a tendency to create ?ritual complexes? or landscapes. We will also discuss the significance of an increase in open-air ?ceremonial? enclosures. Our exploration of neolithic Ireland will draw to a close with the arrival of the fourth type of megalithic tomb in Ireland and that of beaker pottery. These events, which appear to immediately precede ? or even coincide with ? the development of metallurgy, will provide us with a suitable point from which to reflect on the changes of the preceding 1500 years.
Key terms and phrases: passage tomb complexes, open air enclosure, henges, cursus monuments, grooved ware, wedge tombs, beaker pottery.
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