Monthly Archives: August 2011

The Journal of Irish Archaeology Volume XIX 2010: Review

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One of the highlights of the archaeological year is the publication of the Journal of Irish Archaeology by the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland. This latest volume XIX for 2010 is edited by Prof. James Mallory of Queen’s University Belfast and includes six papers on a variety of topics ranging from prehistory to the post-medieval period. There are papers on the rock art of Loughcrew and George Petrie’s work on megalithic tombs. There are surveys of Inis Airc Island, medieval church altars and the limestone quarries of the Hook Peninsula, and there is also a report on the excavation of early medieval and prehistoric features at Ballyburn Upper, Co. Kildare.

Open-air rock art at Loughcrew, Co. Meath

Elizabeth Shee Twohig, Corinne Roughley, Colin Shell, Ciaran O’Reilly, Peter Clarke and Gillian Swanton

Elizabeth SheeTwohig et al. report on 10 new examples of rock art found in the vicinity of the Loughcrew, Co. Meath passage Tomb cemetery since 2003. They discuss the geology and location of the art and present a catalogue and drawings and review the earlier discoveries. They discuss the repertoire and organisation of the art. In the conclusion they suggest that the open-air rock art and passage tomb art could be contemporary.

Druids’ altars, Carrowmore and the birth of Irish archaeology

David McGuinness

David McGuinness in a paper on the history of archaeology explores how George Petrie’s work on the Carrowmore megalithic cemetery in 1837 and the opening of the Knockmary Tumulus in the Phoenix Park Dublin in front of the members of the Royal Irish Academy lead to the acceptance of megalithic sites as tombs rather than temples.

Reconsidering early medieval seascapes: new insights from Inis Airc, Co. Galway. Ireland

Ian Kujit, Ryan Lash, Michael, Gibbons, Jim Higgins, Nathan Goodale and John O’Neill

Field survey of Inis Airc, Co. Galway suggests that the island with its stone church, graveyards, cashel and possible oratory, holy wells and open air altar may have been an early medieval ecclesiastical settlement.

Settlement and economy of an early medieval site in the vicinity of two newly discovered enclosures near the Carlow/Kildare border.

Nial O’Neill

This is a report of the excavation of an unenclosed early medieval subsistence and manufacturing site as well as the testing of the two hilltop enclosures, one with a large burnt deposit at its centre, and a Bronze Age hut site at Ballyburn Upper, Co. Kildare. The discussion is focussed on the unenclosed subsistence and manufacturing site as this is an indication that not all activity took place within the enclosed farmsteads known as ringforts and cashels.

Altars in Ireland. 1050-1200: a survey

Griffin Murray

This assessment of eight stone alters from the medieval period finds that they were all of a uniform size and shape in order to hold a reasonable number of religious artefacts and that there decoration was influenced by altars of wood and metal.

Between the sea and the land: coastal limestone quarries on the Hook Peninsula, Co. Wexford

Niall Colfer

Niall Colfer discusses the post-medieval industrial limestone quarries of the Loftus Estate of the Hook Peninsula, Co. Wexford. He notes that the stone was used to construct many of the landscape features we see on the peninsula today.

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. The Journal of Irish Archaeology Volume XIX 2010: Review. The Charles Mount Blog, August 25, 2011. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=472

Hoards in the Irish Copper and Bronze Ages

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Hoard of gold lunulae from Rathrooen, Co. Mayo. Image originally published in Clarke et al. 1985.

Throughout the Copper and Bronze Ages the deposition of hoards fluctuated through cycles of activity driven by religious, social and economic factors. After 1,500 years hoard deposition increased parabolicly in the last few centuries of the period indicating that the economy had boomed to the extent that people were wealthy enough to participate in an unprecedented process of wealth destruction. But this was followed by a complete halt to hoard deposition caused by economic collapse or social and religious changes or a combination of these factors.

Introduction

In Ireland the use of metal commenced with the use of copper and gold from at least 2400 BC in the period known as the Copper Age and continued until the wide adoption of iron technology after 700-600 BC. One of the main themes of the Copper and Bronze Ages are hoards. Hoards are collections of objects that are buried together either in the ground or in bogs or other wetlands like lakes, marshes or rivers. Sometimes large collections of objects from bogs and wetlands that probably accumulated over time are also referred to as hoards. The study of the contents of hoards are important to our understanding of the Copper/Bronze Age as they record which objects were in use at a particular period, tell us about the production and distribution of objects and about contemporary society and religious practices. There are a number of different types of hoards including hoards of scrap metal for recycling and hoards of newly made objects for trade and distribution that were intended for recovery. Personal hoards are made up of sets of ornaments, tools or weapons that represented the personal property of an individual. These may have been deposited with the intention of recovery or they may have been intended as religious offerings never to be recovered. Finally there are large community hoards that are usually found in bog/wetland locations and were offerings deposited as part of religious ceremonies.

The record of hoards

There are more than 230 hoards known from the Copper/Bronze Age that contain more than 2,200 objects. Thirty-eight hoards are known from the Copper Age, 32 from the Early Bronze Age, just 5 from the Middle Bronze Age and 157 from the Late Bronze Age (O’Flaherty 1995, Eogan 1983 and 1994). One of the earliest hoards is the Castletown Roche hoard of four flat copper axes which were found close to the Awbeg River in Cork. Hoards continued to be deposited right into the seventh century BC and possible afterwards. In fact most of the known hoards were deposited in the period from the ninth century BC, known as the Dowris phase after a large bog/wetland hoard found near Birr, Co. Offaly. It was also in the Late Bronze Age that very large community hoards developed at bog/wetland locations like Dowris, Mooghaun, Co. Clare and the Bog of Cullen, Co. Tipperary. A trend throughout the Copper/Bronze Age was the deposition of hoards in bog/wetlands. About a third of the Copper and Early Bronze Age hoards, all the Middle Bronze Age hoards and about half the Late Bronze Age hoards are from bog/wetlands. The defining characteristic of these hoards is that they formed a part of religious ceremonies and were never intended to be recovered.

The Copper Age hoards

From the Copper Age, which commenced by 2400 BC or earlier, there are about 114 objects, mainly flat axes, gold discs and lunulae known from 38 hoards. Gold and copper were usually deposited separately. For example at Clashbredane, Co. Cork 25 flat axes were found in Raheen bog during peat cutting, while at Dunfierth, Co. Kildare 4 gold lunulae neck ornaments were deposited together in a bog. A few other objects like daggers and halberds are mainly found in the bog hoards. The objects in gold hoards were often in pairs and appear to represent personal objects.

The Early Bronze Age hoards

After 2200/2100 BC copper was alloyed with tin to create bronze and the Early Bronze Age commenced. There are about 145 hoard objects known from 32 hoards in this period of over 600 years. There appears to have been a reduction in hoard deposition compared to the Copper Age. Axes were still the most common object included with a few daggers and halberds occurring in bog/wetland contexts. Gold disappeared from hoards and wasn’t deposited again until the Late Bronze Age.

The Middle Bronze Age hoards

After 1500 BC the Bronze Age moved into its Middle phase and hoard deposition went into a further decline. Only three hoards with just 11 objects are known mainly from bog/wetlands in the north-west. These included Spears for the first time with flanged and palstave axes.

The Late Bronze Age hoards

After 1300/1200 BC, in the period known as the Bishopsland phase, gold hoards reappeared for the first time since the Copper Age. Twenty-five hoards of mainly personal ornaments are known that include 130 objects such as torcs, bracelets, rings, ear-rings and hair-rings that were made of gold and were mostly deposited in dry land hoards. The gold objects were all international types that are found throughout Britain, France and Spain. These were the personal property of individuals but appear to have been selected and buried for some special social or religious purpose rather than just concealment.

After 1000 BC there was another brief period of decline in hoard deposition during what is known as the Roscommon phase of the Late Bronze Age. Only 3 hoards containing more than 200 objects are known from this period. The most important find from the period the Roscommon hoard contained more than 200 pieces of broken and possibly scrap bronze. The objects in the hoards are primarily swords, spearheads, axes and other tools.

After 900 BC during the Dowris phase the Bronze Age reached its finale. It is not entirely clear how long this period lasted. There is evidence that iron working had been introduced to Ireland sometime between 800-700 BC. So for part of the Dowris phase both bronze and iron were in use simultaneously. From this short period more than 130 hoards are known containing more than 1,600 objects of bronze, gold, amber, glass, etc. These two or three hundred years saw over three times more objects deposited in hoards than in the proceeding 1,500 years. These hoards also contained the widest range of objects of the Bronze Age with tools such as axes and gouges, weapons such as swords and spear-heads, and razors, rings, containers, musical instruments and personal ornaments and gold rings and gorges, and beads of glass and faience. Most of the hoards are known from bog/wetlands and a number of them like Dowris, Cullen and Mooghaun each contained more than 200 objects which appear to have been deposited over a number of years.

The parabolic increase in hoard deposition indicates that during the Dowris phase the economy had boomed to the extent that many people were wealthy enough to participate in an unprecedented process of wealth destruction through the offering of valuable objects to the gods at ceremonies mostly centred on sacred bog/wetland sites. The large community hoards like Dowris and Mooghaun contained a wide range of objects from cauldrons and swords, to musical instruments, tools and ornaments. These hoards may be the accumulation of annual or episodic ceremonial offerings. There were also hoards of ornaments like the example from a bog at Kilmoyly, Co. Kerry with its gold bracelets and dress fastener deposited in a wooden box. These hoards represent an offering on behalf of wealthy individuals. There are weapon hoards like the example from wetland at Ballycroghan, Co. Down with its three leaf-shaped swords. The weapon hoards probably represent the offerings of individual chieftains. There are also tool hoards like the example from Crossna, Co. Roscommon with socketed axes, a gouge and knife, which probably represent the offerings of wealthy farmers.

Conclusion

The mechanisms behind these wildly fluctuating rates of hoard deposition are still poorly understood. If hoards were being buried as a means of concealment and safekeeping with the intention of recovery we would expect to have found much larger numbers of hoards from the Middle Bronze Age and the early part of the Late Bronze Age and would expect to find gold hoards throughout the period. Instead what we are seeing are cycles of fluctuations in hoard deposition that were driven by religious, social and economic factors. The phases may have lasted for hundreds of years but could have been shorter. The activity also took place at different social scales from the community to the individual level but each would have taken place within a defined social and political context. Some time probably between 600 and 500 BC the deposition of hoards ceased completely as a result of economic collapse or social and religious changes or a combination of these factors. This could have been a slow process or an abrupt collapse in activity. The production and use of bronze alongside iron continued in the succeeding Iron Age but was never again to reach the same scale.

About the author

Dr. Charles Mount has been involved in research on the Irish Bronze Age for more than twenty years and has published extensively on the burials, monuments and artefacts of the period. This blog post is based on research he is preparing for a book on the period. You can read more of Dr. Mount’s publications here .

Further reading

O’Flaherty 1995 discusses the bronze hoards of the Copper and Early Bronze Age. Eogan 1994 discusses the gold hoards of the Copper Age and Bronze Age. Eogan 1983 catalogues the hoards of the Middle and Late Bronze Age. Kristiansen 1998 discusses in detail the social and economic analysis of hoarding throughout Europe.

Clarke, D.V. et al. 1985. Symbols of Power at the time of Stonehenge. Edinburgh.

Eogan, G. 1983. Hoards of the Irish later Bronze Age. Dublin.

Eogan, G. 1994. The Accomplished Art. Gold and Gold Working in Britain and Ireland during the Bronze Age. Oxford.

Kristiansen, K. 1998. Europe before History. Cambridge.

O’Flaherty, R. 1995. An analysis of the Irish Early Bronze Age hoards containing copper or bronze objects. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries 125, 10-45.

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. Hoards in the Irish Copper and Bronze Ages. The Charles Mount Blog, August 25, 2011. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=458

The aerial survey of archaeology in peatland

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The aerial survey of vertical cut bogs may allow the assessment of an important and diminishing archaeological resource for the first time.

Introduction

Irish peat bogs have long been recognised as important repositories of not only important artefactual information but many thousands of archaeological sites including settlements, ritual sites and hoard sites, trackways, platforms and post-rows dating from the Neolithic to the Medieval period. The traditional method of indentifying archaeological sites in peatland has been to walk the along the drains cut into the horizontally milled bogs by Bord na Móna the Irish semi-state peat development company. These regularly spaced drains provide a readymade section through the bog that allow sites at various depths above the water table to be identified (see Figs 1 and 2). Sites at the bog surface are also identified during survey. This survey work has been possible because Bord na Móna has been supportive of archaeological survey and investigation on its lands.

However, there are bogs on private lands where this type of survey has not been possible. Although these bogs are also exploited for their turf (see Fig. 3) there are no requirements for planning consent or environmental impact assessment and they have generally not been subject to archaeological assessment. Another difficulty in assessing the private bogs is the lack of regularly spaced drains. The only available sections are in the vertical cuttings that are usually on the external sides of the bogs. As a result very few archaeological sites have been identified in areas of privately owned peatland. There have been artefactual finds reported from these private peatlands over the years and it is just as likely that important archaeological sites are present in private bogs as in the Bord na Móna bogs. In order to remedy the situation a method of identifying archaeology in privately held areas of peatland is required.

Aerial survey has been used to identify archaeological sites across the landscape with great success, but this remote sensing technique has generally not been applied to peatlands. It was assumed that the same soil and cropmarks and the play of light and shade across earthworks would not occur in peatland. However examination of recent aerial coverage provided by Google Earth and Google Maps has indicated a range of linear features extending across areas of both milled and vertical cut peatland. These features tend to cross the narrow necks of bogs between areas of dryland. In some cases they parallel the routes of modern roads. In one case at Corradrehid/Monghagh Co. Roscommon a linear feature extends directly from a dryland road across the bog. At Cullahill/Dromard, Co. Tipperary a linear feature has been identified by the Archaeological Survey as a trackway and published and at Edera, Co. Longford linear features appear to represent trackways identified during ground survey. Eight examples are presented below of features visible in both milled and vertical cut bogs.

Features in milled bogs

These bogs have had the upper surfaces removed by milling and have a characteristic pattern of regularly spaced drains.

Fig. 1. Google Maps image of Edera, Co. Longford. Coordinates 53°33'48.80"N 7°50'2.80"W

At Edera, Co. Longford a number of linear features can be seen running into the narrow end of a bog from the dryland at north-east heading into the interior in a south-western direction (Fig. 1). The northern example appears to correspond with trackway LFDR001 recorded in the recent archaeological survey (Fig. 2). The middle example may correspond with LFDR002. The southern example may indicate a trackway not identified in the current survey.

Fig. 2. Survey of trackways identified in Edera Bog, Co. Longford, based on Rohan 2009, Fig. 14.

Fig. 3. Google Maps image of Cullahill/Dromard More bog, Co. Tipperary. Coordinates 52°52'3.35"N 7°44'33.55"W.

At Cullahill/Dromard More, Co. Tipperary a linear feature crosses the narrow end of the bog from the dryland at north to an area of cut bog at south where it may have been dug out (Fig. 3). This feature has been identified in the Archaeological Survey of County Tipperary Vol I as a Togher or trackway (No. 1166; RMP TS024-011).

Fig. 4. Google Maps image of Newpark Townland, Co. Longford. Coordinates 53.627667,-7.912193.

At Newpark, Co. Longford a linear feature extends from the dryland at west across the narrow neck of the bog to the eastern side where it disappears (Fig. 4).

Fig. 5. Google Maps image of Derrycooley, Co. Offaly. Coordinates 53°16'31.61"N 7°41'4.01"W.

At Derrycooley, Co. Offaly a liner feature extends from the dryland at south across the bog to an area of higher ground within the bog (Fig. 5).

Features in non-milled bogs.

The non-milled bogs retain the original bog surfaces that appear in aerial photos as greyish flat areas. They are characterised as having vertical cut areas penetrating to the interiors from the exterior sides.

Fig. 6. Google Maps image of Corradrehid and Monghagh townlands, Co. Roscommon. Coordinates 53°44'57.13"N 8° 0'59.31"W.

At Corradrehid/Monghagh, Co. Roscommon a roadway extends from the dryland on the west and runs north-east across the length of an area of uncut bog almost to the eastern end where it peters out (Fig. 6). Note areas of cut bog extending into the interior of the bog and the lack of drains running across the bog.

Fig. 7. Google Maps image of Erra townland, Co. Roscommon. Coordinates 53°43'21.67"N 7°58'35.73"W.

At Erra, Co. Roscommon a linear feature extends from the dryland at south-west, an island of land next to the river Shannon, into an area of uncut bog running roughly parallel to the line of a modern road (Fig. 7).

Fig. 8. Google Maps image of Timone, Co. Tipperary. Coordinates 52°55'8.37"N 7°44'4.81"W.

At Timone, Co. Tiperary a liner feature crosses an area of uncut bog from north-west to south-east, between two areas of old cut bog, running in the same general direction as the modern road network (Fig. 8).

Fig. 9. Google Maps image of Magheraveen/Cloonfore, Co. Longford. Coordinates 53°39'34.79"N 7°56'12.96"W.

 

At Magheraveen/Cloonfore, Co. Longford, Co. Roscommon a linear features extends across the centre of a bog from an area of cutaway in the north-east towards the south-west where it appears to be visible on the dryland (Fig. 9). This appears to be a dug feature. It is not a mapped townland boundary but could represent an ancient boundary.

Conclusion

The aerial images presented here indicate that aerial survey has the potential to be useful for indentifying features in both milled and and vertical cut bogs. To definitively establish whether these linear features are archaeological will require assessment in the field. Other techniques such as LIDAR survey may also prove to be effective at identifying linear features. If aerial survey is able to identify archaeology in bogs it will allow the assessment of an important and diminishing archaeological resource for the first time.

Further reading.

Excavations and Survey in the Bord na Móna Peatlands
Research and Training in the Bord na Móna Peatlands

Rohan, N. 2009. Peatland Survey 2007 & 2008: Blackwater, Derryfadda, Coolnagun, Mountdillon Group of Bogs. Archaeological development Services Report for Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Bord na Mona.

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. The aerial survey of archaeology in peatland. The Charles Mount Blog, August 18, 2011. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=367

The two burial traditions of the beaker period in Ireland 1.1

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A beaker from Largantea, Co. Derry, after Herring 1938.

 

New discoveries are transforming how we view the beaker period.

Introduction

Beaker is a style of prehistoric pottery found throughout Europe in the later part of the third millennium BC from Scandinavia to North Africa and from the Danube to Ireland. Early beakers are tall pots with characteristic curving bell-shaped profiles and narrow flat bases that are often decorated with horizontal bands of decoration, although later beakers had a wider variety of forms. Radiocarbon dating indicates that beaker came into use in Ireland during the Cooper Age in the years following 2450 cal BC. Beaker ceased being deposited in burials by about 2170 cal BC but remained in general use when the Bronze Age commenced about 2000 BC and only went out of use entirely about 1900 Cal BC. It is the roughly three hundred years when beaker appeared in burials between 2450-2170 cal BC that I will refer to as the beaker period.

In Ireland beaker is found at settlement and ceremonial sites as well as in burials and early copper mines. Until recently Irish beaker burials were only known from megalithic tombs mainly in the north of the island. Discoveries made since the 1990s have transformed the situation. We are now able to discuss two burial traditions, one involving both old and newly built megalithic tombs in the north and a single burial tradition in the south. Beaker period burials are now known from old megalithic tombs with beaker associated burials. They are also known from newly built megalithic Wedge Tombs with beaker associated burials as well as from Wedge Tombs without beaker associated burials. To this we can now add burials with beaker in pits and without beaker in stone cists.

Old Megalithic tombs

In the Beaker period people in the north of the island placed burials accompanied by beaker pottery into megalithic tombs which were already very old monuments. The main old tomb used for beaker burial was the Court Tomb. There are about 390 Court Tombs known that consist of longitudinal chambers under long cairns with forecourt entrance features. At Ballybriest, Co. Derry, for example, an oval cavity resembling a polygonal cist was created in the Court Tomb cairn and the cremated remains of an adult male associated with a beaker were then placed into the cavity.

Newly built megalithic tombs

Wedge Tombs are the most common megalithic tomb type known in Ireland, with more than 500 known examples found mainly in the north, west and south-west. Most Wedge Tombs have wedge-shaped chambers with forecourts and round to oval cairns. Wedge Tombs came into use during the period 2540-2300 cal BC at about the start of the Beaker period and broadly contemporary beaker burials have been identified in a number of Wedge tombs mainly in the north. Both cremated and unburnt human remains were deposited in the Wedge tombs although cremation was more common. For example, at Largantea Co. Derry, cremated remains were deposited with what appeared to be whole beakers.

Wedge Tombs with burials not associated with beaker

Not all the Wedge Tombs investigated contained Beaker pottery. A number of examples have been investigated in the south of the country, like Labbacallee and Island, Co. Cork, that contained human remains but no beaker pottery. This indicates that not all beaker period burials were accompanied by beaker and we should be on the lookout for contemporary pit burials without pottery.

Pit burials with beaker

There are a number of pit burials containing Beaker now known from the south and east of the country. These burials are characterised as having small token quantities of cremated bone associated with sherds from one or more beakers sometimes associated with large stone artefacts like axes and mace heads, as well as flint and cereal grains. At Lismullin, Co. Meath a pit contained a cremated individual with burnt stone, a fragment of a mace head and sherds of two beakers as well as some Neolithic sherds and a flint flake. At Corbally, Co. Kildare a pit with a scorched base contained cremated human bone, animal bone, burnt flint and a chert barbed and tanged arrowhead with sherds of two beakers. Another pit in the neighbouring townland of Brownstown Co. Kildare contained cremated bone and barley and wheat associated with sherds of beaker.

Cist graves without Beaker

At Brackagh, Co. Derry a a small sub-rectangular cairn that was enclosed by 11 posts covered a pair of stone cists, one rectangular and the other octagonal, within a figure of eight stone setting. The octagonal cist contained the cremated remains of two adults that were dated to 2620-2485 cal. BC. The rectangular cist also contained the cremated remains of two individuals dated to 2485-2342 cal BC. There were no artefact associations with the burials. These cist burials highlight the possibility that other cists containing cremations but no associated artefacts may also date to the Beaker period.

Discussion

The new evidence is transforming our view of burial in the beaker period in Ireland. Two contrasting burial types are now visible, one traditional and centred on megalithic tombs mainly in the north of the island. The other focussed on simpler single graves mainly in the south. The megalithic tombs continued a long tradition of collective burial of both burnt and unburnt remains and the deposition of whole pottery vessels that may have contained organic materials. In contrast pit burials were single graves with only small amounts of cremated bone accompanied by broken artefacts. What is emerging are two different views of burial, one looking to past traditions, the other making a new statement, but both using the international style of beaker pottery.

About the author

Dr. Charles Mount has been involved in research on the Irish Bronze Age for more than twenty years and has published extensively on the burials, monuments and artefacts of the period. This blog post is based on research he is preparing for a book on the period. You can read more of Dr. Mount’s publications here .

Further reading

Waddell 1998 is an excellent introduction to the prehistory of Ireland which summarises many of the themes and sites discussed here. Herity 1987 has summarised all the finds from the Irish Court Tombs. Schulting et al discuss the chronology of the Irish Wedge Tombs. O’Brien 2004 has published his excavations of the early copper mine at Ross Island, Co. Kerry and set the mines in the context of the Copper Age. For more on the pottery of the Bronze Age read Brindley 2007. Herring 1938, Purcell 2002, O’Connell 2009 and O’Regan 2010 include primary information on the Larngantia, Corbally, Brownstown, Lismullin and Brackagh burials.

Brindley, A. 2007. The dating of Food Vessels & urns in Ireland. Bronze Age Studies 7, Galway

Herity, M. 1987. The finds from Irish Court Tombs. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 87c, 5-281.

Herring, . J. 1938. The cairn excavation at Well Glass Spring, Largantea, Co. Londonderry. Ulster Journal of Archaeology 1, 164-88.

O’Brien, W. 2004. Ross Island. Mining, Metal and Society in Early Ireland. Bronze Age Studies 6, Galway.

O’Connell, A. 2009. Excavations at Lismullin, Co. Meath 1. National Roads Authority Report.

O’Regan, C. 2010. A monumental discovery in south Derry Archaeology Ireland 24, No. 3, 22-24

Purcell, A. 2002.  Excavation of Three Neolithic Houses at Corbally, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare. Journal of Irish Archaeology 11, 31-75.

Schulting, R., Sheridan, A., Clarke, S. And Ramsey, B. 2008. Largantea and the dating of Irish Wedge Tombs. Journal of Irish Archaeology 17, 1-17.

Waddell, J. 1990. The Prehistoric Archaeology of Ireland. Galway.

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. The two burial traditions of the beaker period in Ireland. The Charles Mount Blog, August 11, 2011. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=349

Version 1.1: revised 4/10/2011

A day of archaeology in the peatlands of Ireland I & II

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View across Killaderry Bog, Co. Galway

 

For those who missed it here are my two contributions to the Day of Archaeology 2011 combined as a single post. You can see the originals here and here  and the homepage here. There are more than 400 posts from 400 archaeologists which present a snapshot of archaeology in the

About me
As an archaeologist my work ranges widely from advising developers how to avoid impacts on archaeology and built heritage, to the preparation of the cultural heritage sections of environmental impact assessments, to the commissioning of field-based investigations such as geophysical survey and the traditional archaeological excavation. Part of my professional work involves overseeing the archaeological programme of Bord na Móna, where I act as Project Archaeologist. Bord na Móna is the commercial Semi-state body with responsibility for the development of the Irish national peat resource. Bord na Móna owns and manages more than 80,000 ha of land spread across Ireland. Most of this is peatland which has preserved a wealth of organic archaeological and palaeoenvironmental material. Once thought to be areas of wilderness we now know that the bogs were used by people for thousands of years.

Up with the lark
Today I will be travelling to Killaderry and Castlegar bogs in Co. Galway to have a final look at the results of this year’s fieldwork.  There’s no need to set an alarm as our toddler has the household awake at 5.30am and part of the morning has already been spent watching Jungle Junction!

The project
The archaeological survey of the peatlands in the ownership of Bord na Móna has been a huge two decade long task, that has indentified thousands of archaeological sites that are not only near the bog surface but also buried quite deeply. The Bord na Móna method of working is to harvest a few centimetres of peat each year from the top of the bog. This slowly reduces the height of the bog and as the archaeological features come close to the surface they are either excavated or a decision is made to preserve them in situ. To find out more about the project

The excavation work is being carried out by Archaeological Development Services (ADS) who have been carrying out the programme since 1998, under the direction of Operations Manager Jane Whitaker. To date ADS has carried out more than 250 excavations and surveyed more than 45,000 ha of bog lands. For more on ADS peatland click here. I’m going to be meeting Jane on site and she is going to show me around the Killaderry and Castlegar excavations.

This year the investigations are focussing on the wooden trackways in Gowla, Killaderry and Castlegar bogs and ADS were joined earlier in the month by a group from the University of Florida at Gainesville lead by Prof. Florin Curta. Killaderry and Castlegar bogs are situated just to the west of the River Suck, a tributary of the River Shannon, and in the past would have presented a barrier to anyone trying to cross the river (see Google Map above).

It’s time to hit the road!

Getting to the site
It’s a two hour drive from my base in Kildare to Killaderry, part of the trip is on the new Motorways built during the Celtic Tiger period but once you cross the Shannon these roads run out and you are back on the old single carriageways and narrow bridges that characterise the country.

The excavations
I Arrived at Killaderry, Co. Galway just after 11am and Jane Whitaker of ADS showed me around. These are raised bogs, which means they developed from ancient lakes. The natural vegetation has been removed by milling so they give the impression of solidified dark brown lakes. The only visible features are the long and deep drains extending into the distance that break up the bog into long narrow fields. The figures of archaeologists in reflective yellow safety gear can be seen beside shallow excavation cuttings filling out recording sheets. The trackways are spread around the bog and it takes a long time to walk out to them and then from site to site. This year 13 sites were excavated in Killaderry Bog and 3 in Castlegar. Dan Young from Reading University is busily taking samples from around the trackways for environmental analysis. When it rains this can be a bleak place as there’s no cover. In a hot summer there’s no shade from the sun. The peat dries out and can become airborne and tractors and harvesters create mini-dust-storms as they pass.

A section of a trackway prepared for environmental sampling at Killaderry Bog. Co. Galway.
The trackways have a wide date range from the Bronze Age right through to the fifteenth century AD. The longer trackways tend to cross the bogs at their narrowest points linking areas of dryland. In a number of cases trackways follow the routes that were established at earlier periods. There are other alignments of trackway that are being investigated this season that will soon be dated and will provide more detail. At this stage the evidence indicates that this routeway through Killaderry bog was in use for at least two thousand years and is probably the preserved wetland part of an ancient road network that existed in this area. Investigation of the nearby River Suck also has the potential to identify ancient fording points and possibly the remains of bridges. There have been interesting finds, a Late Bronze Age wooden shovel, a rough-out for a handled bowl and a spoon that resembles a chisel. Now that the season’s fieldwork has come to an end the next part of work, the post-ex phase, begins.

Thanks for organising the Day of Archaeology go to: Lorna Richardson, Matt Law, Jessica Ogden, Tom Goskar and Stu Eve for their inpsiration and hard work!

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. A day of archaeology in the peatlands of Ireland I & II. The Charles Mount Blog, August 14, 2011. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=322