The Early Bronze Age Bog Body from Cashel Bog, Co. Laois, Europe’s Oldest Bog Body

The Early Bronze Age Bog Body from Cashel Bog, Co. Laois

The Early Bronze Age Bog Body from Cashel Bog, Co. Laois

The remains of the Cashel bog body were found by a Bord na Mona worker in August 2011 in Cashel Bog, Co. Laois, south of Portlaoise, and promptly reported to the National Museum of Ireland. The find was investigated by Eamonn Kelly, Keeper of Antiquities. As Bord na Mona Project Archaeologist I was also notified of the discovery and visited the site during the investigation. Eamonn Kelly has just published his preliminary findings in a paper entitled “The bog body from Cashel Bog, Co. Laois” in the Ossory, Laois and Leinster No. 5. The remains are those of a naked young adult male placed in a crouched position, either on the bog surface or in a shallow pool, on his right side with his legs tightly flexed and aligned north-south with the head at the south. The burial site was marked with two stakes of hazel wood placed into the bog at an angle that crossed above the head of the body. The head, neck and left arm were removed by peat milling and the torso was damaged but the mandible, teeth, ribs, clavicle, vertebra and other fragments were recovered nearby.

Unusually for an early Bronze Age burial the remains had indications of violent trauma. The arm had been broken by a blow, the spine was broken in two places and cuts to the back appear to have been inflicted with an axe. A radiocarbon date of 3678±31 BP (cal BC 2141-1960 BC) was obtained for the human remains and a second date of  3605±3o BP (2033-1888 BC) obtained for one of the hazel stakes. This makes the Cashel body the earliest fleshed remains found in a bog in Europe to date and would place the death of the young man into the early phase of the Bronze Age just at the stage that inhumations (2215-2095 BC), Bowl Food Vessels (2160 BC) and cists (2160-2065 BC) were coming into use in Ireland. In fact the posture closely resembles a contemporary burial in dryland. Grave 4 at Keenoge, Co. Meath, for example, contained a similar inhumation of an adult male, in a crouched position, lying on his right side aligned north-south in a simple pit in the ground (Mount 1997a, 13).

This discovery opens a new chapter in the record of Bronze Age burial in Ireland. Over 900 Irish Early Bronze Age (2200-1600 BC) burial sites are now known and at these sites people practised a wide range of burial forms in a range of different monument types. The use of megalithic tombs continued from the Chalcolithic and newly built cairns and earthen barrows or ring ditches also came into use. The largest single type of burial site known from the period are flat cemeteries consisting of graves dug into the ground that were either stone-lined cists or simple pits. The burial of the unburned remains of men, women and children developed and people could be inhumed in a variety of positions from extended to flexed, crouched and contracted. The remains could also be buried singly or in groups and be either articulated or disarticulated. Some of the graves contained surprisingly large numbers of burials. For example at Altaghderry Co Donegal a cist contained the remains of 10 individuals including 5 adults, identified as 2 men and at least 1 woman as well as 2 children under 7 years, one infant 7-11 months old and 2 foetuses less than 5 months (Halpin and Roche 2011). In the region where the Cashel body was found about 11% of the Bronze Age burials contained multiple burials (Mount 1997b, 156-7). One explanation for the multiple burials in cists and pits is that the graves were re-opened for later burials, and this appears to have been the case at sites like Carrig, Co. Wicklow (Grogan 1990). However at other sites, like Ballyveelish, Co. Tipperary where five individuals appear to have been cremated intact and buried simultaneously, burial of all individuals took place at one time (Doody 1987, 19). We should also be open to the possibility that the remains of individuals were stored until an appropriate moment and then interred in a grave at one time. Therefore Cashel Bog may not have been the intended final resting place for the young man but a temporary first stage resting place where the body lay, marked by the stakes, until the right moment when a final grave, a cist or pit, in a family cemetery or mound was made ready.

References
Doody, M. 1997. Early Bronze Age Burials, Ballyveelish 3, Co. Tipperary. In R.M. Cleary, M.F. Hurley and E.A. Twig (Ends) Archaeological Excavations on the Cork – Dublin Gas Pipeline (1981 -82), 10-35.

Grogan, E. 1990. Bronze Age cemetery at Carrig, Co. Wicklow. Archaeology Ireland, Vol. 4, No. 4, 12-14.

Halpin, A. and Roche, H. 2011. 3.9 Altaghaderry, Co. Donegal, 02E1474. In M. Cahill and M. Sikora (Eds) Breaking ground, finding graves- reports on the excavations of burials by the national Museum of Ireland, 1927-2006, Vol. 1, 98-111.

Kelly, E. 2012. The bog body from Cashel Bog, Co. Laois. Ossory, Laois and Leinster No. 5.

Mount, C. 1997a.  Adolf Mahr’s Excavations of an Early Bronze Age Cemetery at Keenoge, County Meath PRIA 97c, 1-68.

Mount, C. 1997b. Early Bronze Age burial in south-east Ireland in the light of recent research. PRIA 97c, 101-93.

 

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. 2013. The Early Bronze Age Bogy Body from Cashel Bog, Co. Laois, Europe’s Oldest Bog Body. Charles Mount’s Blog, 23 May 2013. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=1029

Is there a future for development-led Archaeology in Ireland?

Graph of Irish excavation licences issued in 2012 and possible future activity.

Graph of Irish excavation licences issued in 2012 and possible future activity.

Since 2008, following the collapse of the Celtic Tiger economy, Ireland has endured one of the deepest recessions on record. The country has lost its economic sovereignty and continuing austerity has decimated investment in both the public and private sectors. The decline in archaeology has been continuing since 2007 and there has been a massive decline in the number of archaeological excavations carried out annually in Ireland that have now fallen 78% below the level of 2006. The years since then have seen many of the consultancies and companies involved in archaeology close and most of the people working in archaeology have lose their jobs. Everyone remaining in the profession, whether in the public or private sectors, has endured salary reductions, staff reductions, budget reductions and worsening conditions. Anyone involved in archaeology would be forgiven for wondering if the decline is going to end and if there is a future for development-led archaeology in Ireland. The answer is that there are reasons to be optimistic.

The recent publication by the Central Statistics Office of the provisional 2012 Seasonally Adjusted Indices of Production in all Building and Construction records another reduction of 7.8% in the volume of construction output for 2012. While another reduction might not seem like good news the data indicates that the rate of decline is now slowing. There is now a likelihood that in the medium term construction activity may return to growth. This view is supported by the 2012 figures for Irish GDP and GNP which indicate growth gradually returning to the economy. In line with this trend the decline in licenced excavations has begun to slow and was down only 6.6% in the first quarter of 2013 in comparison to the same quarter in 2012. The indications are that development-led archaeology may now be moving into a period of stability as the Irish economic growth begins a slow recovery.

But what is the future for archaeology going to be? It is unlikely that there will ever be a return to the levels of activity seen in the early part of the last decade. At the height of the boom the construction industry increased to become more than a fifth of the Irish economy which was a wholly unsustainable level. But what future level of construction output is considered sustainable? The Irish Construction Industry in 2012 report Produced by DKM Economic Consultants for the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland notes that in 2012 the value of construction in the Irish economy is estimated to have been €7.5 billion, making it just 4.7% of GDP. DKM estimate, based on comparison with the size of the construction industry in other countries, and the long term trend in Irish construction output, that the Irish economy should be capable of sustaining a construction industry equivalent to 10% of GDP. In other words an industry producing an output more than twice as large as it currently is. As I have noted previously there is a close correlation between construction output and the number of excavations carried out in Ireland so an increase in construction would result in an increased requirement for Archaeological investigations.

The conclusion is that, after 6 years of precipitate decline development-led Archaeology in Ireland can now start to look forward to a period of sustainable growth in line with growth in the general Irish economy.

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. 2013. Is there a future for development-led Archaeology in Ireland?. Charles Mount’s Blog, 18 April 2012. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=1018

New data is good news for Irish archaeology indicating the decline in excavation is slowing.

Graph of excavation licences issued per quarter January 2012-April 2013.

Graph of excavation licences issued per quarter January 2012-April 2013.

New data suggests that the rate of decline in archaeological excavation in Ireland is slowing.
In the first quarter of 2013 to the 31 of March there were 112 excavation licenses issued by the National Monuments Service in the Republic of Ireland. This is a small reduction of 6.6% in the number issued in the same period in 2012. Although the total number of licences issued is still declining, the rate of decline is slowing. In my last post I noted that in 2012 the rate of decline in excavation licenses was running at more than twice the rate of the decline in construction output of 7.8%. This new data suggests that the rate of decline in archaeology is now tracking construction more closely. If this is the case we may entering a period of greater stability in the sector.

 

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. 2013. New data is good news for Irish archaeology indicating the decline in excavation is slowing. Charles Mount’s Blog, 4 April 2013. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=1004

Continuing decline in Irish archaeological activity outstrips the decline in construction

Licences chart

Chart of the percentage decline in archaeological licences and building output by volume 2007-12.

In my last post I noted that archaeological excavation licences issued in the Republic of Ireland in 2012 had fallen by 18.6% from the number issued in 2011. I suggested that this indicated that both archaeological and related construction activity had continued to decline in 2012. This has now been confirmed by the publication by the Central Statistics Office of the provisional 2012 Seasonally Adjusted Indices of Production in all Building and Construction. This records a reduction of 7.8% in the volume of construction output for 2012. This indicates that while construction activity has declined for six consecutive years since 2006 the rate of decline is now slowing. A worrying trend is that the rate of decline in archaeological activity has barely slowed and is now running at more than twice the rate of the decline in construction activity. This may indicate that there are other factors causing the decline of archaeological activity other than just the aggregate decline in construction activity.

Next month I will be presenting the first results of the quarterly tracking of archaeological activity that was commenced in 2012. The current evidence is that these figures will indicate continuing decline in activity in the sector in the first quarter of 2013.

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. 2013. Continuing decline in Irish archaeological activity outstrips the decline in construction. The Charles Mount Blog, 22 March 2013. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=990

Excavation Licenses indicate continued reduction in archaeological and construction activity in 2012

Excavationlicences2000-2012

Excavation licences 2000-2012

 

Archaeological Licenses indicate that in 2012 archaeological activity in Ireland continued to contract for the sixth year reaching a fifteen year low.

Figures provided by the National Monuments Service indicate that the total number of archaeological excavation licenses issued for the year 2012 was 454. This is a reduction of 18.6% from the 558 licenses issued in 2011 and indicates that both archaeological investigations and the construction activity that they relate to continued their decline. This now represents a drop of 78% from the peak of archaeological activity in 2006. The level of activity is comparable to the year 1997 when 467 excavation licences were issued. As indicated in my December 2011 post on the topic excavation license and construction output show a high degree of correlation and it is anticipated that this almost 19% drop in archaeological activity will be mirrored by a similar drop in construction activity. In view of the current economic trends it is not clear when the decline in Irish construction and archaeological activity will stop. Current analysis would indicate that the trend will continue through 2013. I have been reporting the figures on a quarterly basis since the first quarter of 2012 and will be reporting changes in quarterly activity from March 2013.

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. 2012. Excavation Licenses indicate continued reduction in archaeological and construction activity in 2012. The Charles Mount Blog, 21 December 2012. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=974

Indicators suggest that archaeological and construction activity in Ireland continued to decline in the third quarter of 2012.

Indicators suggest that archaeological and construction activity in Ireland continued to decline in the third quarter of 2012.

Indicators suggest that archaeological and construction activity in Ireland continued to decline in the third quarter of 2012.

At the end of the third quarter of 2012, 375 archaeological excavation licenses had been issued by the National Monuments Service. This represents just 67% of the 558 licenses issued in 2011. These quarterly results will not have analytical value until year on year comparisons can be made beginning in 2013, however, if this trend continues the number of licenses issued in 2012 will be at least 10% less than 2011. The continuing decline in archaeological activity is paralleled in the Irish construction industry. The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Manager’s Index fell to 40.7 in August from 42.2 in July and 42.5 in June the fasted pace of decline since September 2011.

 

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. 2012. Indicators suggest that archaeological activity in Ireland continued to decline in the third quarter of 2012. The Charles Mount Blog, 4 October 2012. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=960

German Army documents indicate serious planning for a WWII invasion of Ireland.

Militärgeographische Angaben über Irland, Military and geographical assessment of Ireland. Mullocks Auctions UK.

Militärgeographische Angaben über Irland, Military and geographical assessment of Ireland. Mullocks Auctions UK.

Appearing at auction this week at Mullock’s Auctions in Shropshire is a surviving copy of the planning documents prepared for a German invasion of Ireland.

As part of the planning for the invasion of Britain in 1940 the Department for War Maps and Surveying of the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), German Army High Command, produced a series of military and geographical assessments to assist with planning the invasion. The OKH also produced a detailed assessment to assist with plans for Operation Green, the invasion of neutral Ireland. Entitled Militärgeographische Angaben über Irland, Military and Geographical Assessment of Ireland and labelled “Only for internal use”, the first edition of the document was completed on 30 September 1940. David Archer Maps have catalogued the contents of the assessment as three illustrated books and seven folding maps giving an overview of the geographical and industrial background of Ireland useful to an invading force. Maps included electricity power supply, railways with index of stations, radio installations, telephone and telegraph offices and a road map, emphasising traffic difficulties. There was also a book of 25 town plans with detailed maps of Dublin and Belfast. Another book contained photographs and descriptions of the coast, with sketch diagrams to identify locations from offshore.

Aerial photo of the Ardnacrusha hydro-electric power plant from Militärgeographische Angaben über Irland. Image: Daily Mail.

Aerial photo of the Ardnacrusha hydro-electric power plant from Militärgeographische Angaben über Irland. Image: Daily Mail.

Notably planning for the invasion continued after the abandonment of the invasion of Britain as a book with maps describing the West and North Coast (Mizen Head to Malin Head) was completed for a later edition completed on 15 October 1941. Although Ireland was a neutral state the documents demonstrate that the German High Command considered an invasion a real possibility and assigned considerable resources to the task of planning. The detailed mapping and photography of Ireland’s towns and cities and vital infrastructure, like the Ardnacrusha hydro-electric power plant (above), indicate just how close Ireland came to becoming a battlefield.

See more images from the document published by the Daily Mail.

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. 2012. German Army documents indicate serious planning for a WWII invasion of Ireland. The Charles Mount Blog, 27 September 2012. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=943

Department of the Environment issues new draft guidelines on carrying out Environmental Impact Assessment

Guidelines for planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála on carrying out environmental impact assessment

In July of this year the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government issued new guidelines for planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála on carrying out environmental impact assessment. The guidelines define environmental impact assessment as the role of the planning authority and establish new procedures to carry out assessments in an open and transparent manner.

As a result of the European Court decision C-50/09 (Commission v Ireland) that Article 3 of the environmental impact assessment Directive had not been adequately transposed into Irish law sections 171 and 172 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 were amended by section 54 of the Planning and Development Act 2010.

Section 171a of the Planning and Development Act 2000 as amended now states:

171A.-(1) In this part-‘environmental impact assessment’ means an assessment carried out by a planning authority or the Board, as the case may be, in accordance with this Part and regulations made thereunder, that shall identify, describe and assess in an appropriate manner, in light of each individual case and in accordance with Articles 4 to 11 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, the direct and indirect effects of a proposed development on the following: human beings, flora and fauna, soil, water, air, climate and the landscape, material assets and the cultural heritage, and the interaction between the factors mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c).

Section 172 (1B) of P & D Act 2000 as amended now states:

  1. An applicant for consent to carry out a proposed development referred to in subsection (1) shall furnish an environmental impact statement to the planning authority or the Board, as the case may be, in accordance with the permission regulations.

These new provisions came into force on the 19th of November 2010.

In order to provide practical guidance to planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála on the new procedures involved in environmental impact assessment the Department has issued new draft guidelines under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

 The guidelines set out a new assessment procedure in which the environmental impact assessment must be carried out by the planning authority or An Bord Pleanála in an open and transparent manner and must be documented with a paper trail available for public scrutiny. The main planners report will now have to contain an environmental impact assessment report. This report will be based on information provided by the developer in the environmental impact statement, submissions from third parties, internal planning authority data and if required requests further information. The report will also have to assess and evaluate the accuracy and veracity of the information submitted and comment on the adequacy of the environmental impact statement. The environmental impact assessment report should identify, describe and assess all the likely significant direct and indirect effects of the proposed development noting their timescale and magnitude.

The assessment itself must be carried out by the decision maker (i.e. the manager or delegated person) who must indicate in a written statement separate to the decision on the planning file that they have read the environmental impact assessment report and either accepted its conclusions in whole or in part or have not accepted them. Where the decision-maker has decided not to accept some or all of the conclusions made by the planner in the environmental impact assessment report they must give reasons why they have not accepted them

The environmental impact statement prepared by the developer will continue to contain the same information required by the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 and article 5 of the EIA Directive. The focus of the environmental impact statement is on providing information, data and description of the proposed development and the aspects of the environment likely to be effected. The developer is also required to submit a description of the likely significant effects of the proposed project on the environment. They must also submit an outline of the main alternatives studied, a non-technical summary of the information provided and an indication of any difficulties encountered in compiling the required information.

Also in response to the C-50/09 judgement in July of this year the Minister for Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht commenced the European Union (Environmental Impact Assessment of Proposed Demolition of National Monuments) Regulations 2012. This deals with the exclusion of demolition works from the scope of legislation transposing the EIA Directive into Irish Law see here.

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. 2012. Department of the Environment issues new draft Guidelines on carrying out Environmental Impact Assessment. The Charles Mount Blog, 13 September 2012. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=930

 

Update 17/9/12. The Institute of Archaeologist of Ireland have made a a submission on the guidelines.

The IAI made a submission to the Department of Environment, Community and Rural Development in response to the publication of draft guidelines for planning authorities on carrying out environmental impact assessment. While the IAI welcomes the publications of these guidelines we have a number of significant concerns in relation to the competency of planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála to adequately assess the impact of proposed developments on our archaeological heritage. The full submission can be read here IAI Submission EIA September 2012

Environmental impact assessment and the demolition of national monuments

 

The national monument at Lismullin, Co. Meath which was identified during road construction.

The national monument at Lismullin, Co. Meath which was identified and demolished during road construction.

New regulations introduce an important change in the way environmental impact assessment is carried out in Ireland in order to comply with a ruling of the European Court. In future environmental impact assessment will be the responsibility of the competent authority that will come to a decision after receiving an environmental impact statement from the developer. The change means that from now on the demolition of national monuments like Lismullin, Co. Meath (pictured) will be the subject of an environmental impact assessment carried out by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

 

On the 9th of July 2012 the Minister for Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht commenced the European Union (Environmental Impact Assessment of Proposed Demolition of National Monuments) Regulations 2012. The requirement for the regulations result from the decision of March 2011 of the European Court in case C-50/09 the European Commission vs. Ireland, that Ireland had failed to fulfil its obligations under the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive as it had (amongst other things) excluded demolition works from the scope of legislation transposing the Directive into Irish Law. In other words demolition of a significant heritage building or structure where the works would constitute a significant impact on cultural heritage should have required an environmental impact assessment.

 

The new regulations amend the National Monuments Act 1930 by introducing environmental impact assessment procedures in relation to the demolition of national monuments. The amendment adds a new section 14D and only applies in relation to consents under section 14 or directions under section 14A (as inserted by the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 2004) in relation to national monuments discovered in the course of construction of an approved road scheme under the Road Act 1993.

 

This new section requires the Minister, as the competent authority, before deciding to grant a consent or issue directions that would result in the demolition of a national monument to ensure that the proposed demolition has been the subject of an environmental impact assessment. Environmental impact assessment means an assessment, being an assessment which includes an examination, analysis and evaluation, by the Minister that identifies, describes and assesses in an appropriate manner, in light of each individual case and in accordance with Articles 4 to 11 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, the direct and indirect effects which proposed demolition of a national monument would have on the following:

(a) human beings, fauna and flora;

(b) soil, water, air, climate and landscape;

(c) material assets and the cultural heritage;

(d) the interaction between the factors referred to in paragraphs (a)

to (c).

 

The Minister, as the competent authority will receive information from the applicant in the form of an environmental impact statement, and will then carry out the assessment of impact on the environment of the proposed development. Environmental impact statement means a written statement of the direct and indirect effects, if any, which the proposed demolition of a national monument, if carried out, would have on the environment and which contains the information which an environmental impact statement is required to contain under this section. The Minister may after consultation with the Director of the National Museum and the responsible local authority grant an exemption from these requirements in exceptional circumstances. Where an applicant is required to submit an environmental impact statement a notice of this intention must be published in the press two weeks before the submission of the statement. The Minster must circulate the environmental impact statement to the Director of the National Museum and the responsible local authority. If the Minister considers the environmental impact statement is inadequate he may request further information. The Minister will then carry out an environmental impact assessment of the proposal and decide whether or not to grant a consent or issue directions to demolish the national monument. Once the Minister has decided whether or not to grant consent or issue directions for the demolition of a national monument he shall publish a notice in the press and arrange for the environmental impact statement and information on the decision to be made publicly available.

 

I will be speaking about EIS practice for quarry developments at the Portobello Institute 10 August 2012.  See here

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. 2012. Environmental impact assessment and the demolition of national monuments. The Charles Mount Blog, 19 July 2012. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=906

 

Was there malaria in prehistoric Ireland?

 

The range of mosquito species Anopheles claviger (Meigen) from diptera-culcidae.0catch.com

The range of mosquito species Anopheles Claviger (Meigen) in grey from diptera-culcidae.0catch.com

Malaria could partly explain the widespread iron-deficiency anaemia seen in Irish Early Bronze Age cemeteries.

I am spending this summer writing a book on Ireland in the Bronze Age and at the moment I am working on a section on human health. The evidence from cemeteries where there is adequately preserved skeletal material, and these remains have been analysed for pathology, indicates that there was widespread iron-deficiency anaemia amongst the population, both children and adults. These deficiencies present in the preserved bone as porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia while dental hypoplasia indicates acute infection and fever. So far I have noted instances in a dozen cemeteries in Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster and there are probably more. Usually in the reports these diseases are interpreted as indicating a population that was poorly adapted to its environment or was under nutritional stress.

However I know from the sections that I have written on settlement and farming that today the areas in which these cemeteries are found are amongst the most fertile regions of Ireland and the fields surrounding these cemeteries, if not built on, are used to fatten cattle and grow cereals. When I look at the archaeological and palynological evidence for agriculture it indicates that Early Bronze Age farming was generally small-scale and often carried out in in clearings in the forest close to water that were restricted to the lighter and better drained lowland soils (Weir 1995). These clearings were laboriously made by hand to provide grazing land for cattle and pigs with some sheep and horses. There was some cereal cultivation of both wheat and barley but this appears to have been on a limited scale although preserved wheat and barley has been found at a number of settlement sites. The resources of the surrounding forest were also used and hazel nuts, wild apples and berries were collected. The farmers also hunted and the remains of red deer, wild boar and hare have been found at settlements.

The pollen evidence indicates a gradual clearance of forest surrounding the settlements. For example at Roughan Hill, Co. Clare a system of irregularly-shaped fields enclosed by stone walls was laboriously cleared from the forest and contained dispersed houses within enclosures and family tombs covering an area of about 144 hectares (Note Roughan Hill is now dated to the Early Bronze Age see Jones 2008). An area this size might have produced 200-300 cattle annually as well as some cereals and there were all the resources of the surrounding forest. Settlements of the period were usually small scale consisting of just one or two houses for perhaps a single family group. The skeletal remains of the farmers tell the story of the hard work of cutting down trees, removing stones from fields and building stone walls. Many people suffered from injured backs with Schmorl’s nodes, periostitis, degenerative joint disease and osteoarthritis. In my view the archaeological evidence suggests that the Early Bronze Age people were quite well adapted to their environment and don’t appear to have been outstripping the available resources. So I am not happy with widespread nutritional stress as an explanation for the anaemia.

An alternative explanation is that a low level of iron in the blood may be a defence against pathogens. During infection iron is sequestered in the liver, which prevents invading pathogens from getting adequate supplies of this vital element. If these people were being affected by a pathogen it would have to be one that could spread to small-scale low-density communities living close to rivers, lakes and bogs. Diseases like Typhus usually require a higher density of settlement to spread, however mosquito-borne pathogens are a possibility. Recent investigations of Egyptian Royal mummies, for example, have identified the DNA of Plasmodium falciparum, the malaria parasite in association with porotic hyperostosis, so the anaemia could be indicating malaria (Nerlich et al. 2008).

Although Ireland no longer has any mosquito-borne pathogens, it did in the past. Irish mosquitoes are known to have spread tertian malaria (Plasmodium vivax) and the last major outbreak occurred in Cork in the 1840s, 50s and 60s. As well as malaria mosquitoes also have the potential to spread yellow fever, dengue fever and encephalitic viruses. Today Ireland has 18 species of mosquitoes of which four are Anopheles (including Anopheles Claviger (Meigen)) the potential carriers of malaria. Although mosquitoes have not been recorded in archaeological or palaeoenvironmental samples they occur throughout Europe and were first scientifically recorded in Ireland in 1823 (Ashe et al.1991). From the environmental perspective during the Early Bronze Bronze Age the climate is thought to have been 1-2° warmer than today and provided a satisfactory environment for mosquitoes to breed. In fact the Irish climate is still viable for mosquitoes and some health workers fear that climate change could see the re-emergence of malaria in Ireland in the future.

So an alternative hypothesis to the suggestion that all the iron-deficiency anaemia seen in Early Bronze Age remains is caused by nutritional deficiency could be the presence of a pathogen or pathogens that triggered the anaemic reaction as a defence mechanism. This pathogen could have been malaria which was present in Ireland in the nineteenth century. In this scenario the opening up of the forest canopy close to rivers, lakes and bogs altered the ecology and provided new habitats for mosquitos to colonise. The increased populations of mosquitoes bred in close proximity to humans and spread malaria or other pathogens that caused the anaemic reaction. Although there is currently no direct evidence for mosquito-borne pathogens in the Bronze Age Ireland I think this is a useful hypothesis that is worth further consideration and testing.

References

Ashe, P., O’Connor, J.P. and Casey R.J. 1991. Irish mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae): a checklist of the species and their known distribution. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Vol. 91B, 21-36.

Jones, C. 2008. Roughan Hill prehistoric landscape. In M. Comber and C. Jones (compilers) Burren Landscape and Settlement, unpblished report for the Irish National Archaeological Research programme, 42-53.

Nerlich, A.G., Schraut, B., Dittrich, S., Jelinek, T and A.R. Zink 2008. Plasmodium falciparum in Ancient Egypt. Emerging Infectious Diseases 14(8): 1317-1318.

O’Sullivan, M. 2005. Duma na nGiall The Mound of the Hostages, Tara. Dublin.

Weir, D. 1995. A palynological study in County Louth. Discovery Programme Reports 2, 77-126.

 

About the author

Dr. Charles Mount has been involved in research on the Irish Bronze Age for more than twenty years and carried out his post-graduate and doctoral research on the period. Since then he has published extensively on the burials, monuments and artefacts of the period. This blog post is partly based on research he is preparing for a book on the period Ireland in the Bronze Age. You can learn more about Charles Mount’s publications here.

Mount, C. Was there malaria in prehistoric Ireland?. The Charles Mount Blog, 5 July 2012. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=883

Analysis of excavation licensing figures for 2011 correctly predicted reduction in construction output.


Central Statistics Office

The Central Statistics Office in Dublin

In my blog post of 12 January 2012 Excavation Licenses indicate continued reduction in archaeological and construction activity in 2011” I noted that a reduction in archaeological excavation licenses issued in 2011 of 19.6% would indicate a similar drop in the Production and in Building and Construction Index (PBCI) compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The CSO published the PBCI and their final figures for 2011 on 15 June 2012 and these figures do indeed indicate a drop from 28.3 to 23.4 in the volume of production, an annual reduction of 17.3%. This maintains the high level of correlation between the Excavation licensing figures and the CSO PBCI and supports the predictive validity of the excavation licensing index.

Site this post as:

Mount, C. Analysis of excavation licensing figures for 2011 correctly predicted reduction in constriction output. The Charles Mount Blog, 27 June 2012. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=872

Indicators suggest that archaeological activity in Ireland continued to decline in the first half of 2012-revised. 9/07/12

 

Indicators suggest that archaeological activity in Ireland continued to decline in the first half of 2012.Archaeological excavation licensing figures for the first half of 2012 suggest that archaeological activity in Ireland continued to decline.

As of 30 June 2012, 230 archaeological excavation licenses had been issued by the National Monuments Service. This represents just 41% of the 558 licenses issued in 2011. The quarterly results will not have analytical value until year on year comparisons can be made beginning in 2013, however early indications are that archaeological activity in Ireland is continuing to decline. Corroborating evidence of the continued decline in construction and development activity in Ireland has been gathered by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF). The CIF forecast that just 7,500-8,000 houses will be built in Ireland in 2012. This represents a reduction of 25% on the number of houses built in 2011 and a 93% reduction on the number of houses built in 2006. The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Manager’s Index fell to 42.5 in June from 46.3 in May. General weakness across the Irish economy is indicated by the Central Statistics Office Household Survey which shows that the number of people employed fell by 18,100 or 1% (seasonally adjusted to 0.4%) in the first quarter of 2012, with the second largest fall in the construction sector coming after the fall in employment in the hospitality sector. The construction sector has reduced from 267,000 employed in 2006 to just 103,100 employed today. The Central Statistics Office also notes that the unemployment rate has reached a new post-crash high of 14.9% in June.

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Mount, C. Indicators suggest that archaeological activity in Ireland continued to decline in the first half of 2012. The Charles Mount Blog, 9 July 2012. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=862

 

Identifying pottery fire-pits in the archaeological record

Cloghabreedy, Co. Tipperary Site 125.3

Probable pottery fire-pits at Cloghabreedy, Co. Tipperary Site 125.3. Image from McQuade et al. 2009.

Thanks to the work of the UCD Centre for Experimental Archaeology it may now be possible to identify the pottery fire-pits of the Irish prehistoric pottery industry.

One of the most characteristic artefacts of the Irish Bronze Age is pottery. It was produced in large quantities and is found at all types of sites from settlement and ritual to industrial. Until recently no prehistoric pottery fire-pits, where the clay is heated until it becomes pottery, had been identified in the Irish archaeological literature (see for example Ó Faoláin and Northover 1998, 73). Even where quite large settlement sites have been investigated like Corrstown, Co. Derry, where over 9,000 sherds of pottery were recovered, and Chancellosrland site A, where over 2,000 sherds were found, no fire-pits were identified.

UCD Centre for Experimental Archaeology fire-pit.

UCD Centre for Experimental Archaeology fire-pit with charcoal and pottery in situ. Photo Aidan O'Sullivan

Now thanks to the work of the UCD Centre for Experimental Archaeology it looks as though firing sites can be identified. At UCD Aidan O’Sullivan, Conor Mcdermott, Thomas Cummins and John Nicholl have been making vessels of various periods and types and firing them in sub-rectangular shaped fire-pits. Once the contents of the pits have cooled and the finished pots are removed what is left is a fire-reddened pit filled with charcoal and any sherds of failed pots. The great value of this experimental work (and documenting it with images and video through media like Facebook) is that it helps archaeologists identify these features in excavation reports. Aidan O’Sullivan and the others have not only demonstrated how pottery can be made in a simple fire-pits, but Aidan has noted that the field archaeologist will find.

“Charcoal, ash, burnt stones, and pieces of fire-reddened and blackened soil. You might also find heavily fired and black, sooted pottery fragments, the fragmentary remains of previously failed pots that have been through several kiln fires.”

He also noted:

“The effect of a north-easterly breeze, meaning that only centimetres away on the ‘wrong’ side, the fire was essentially cool”.

So some method of blocking the prevailing airflow across the surface of the fire-pit is needed to maintain a constant temperature. As Graham Taylor who writes pottedhistory has noted:

“If the wind is gusting it can cause huge temperature fluctuations which destroy pots.”

The wind can be mitigated by the erection of a simple wattle screen across the path of the prevailing wind.

As Graham Taylor points out:

“A common technique would be: fairly serious fire in the pit allowed to burn down to charcoal, green brushwood directly onto this, pots on to this, then more dry fuel, close over with green brush and clay leaving a few small air holes around the edge. Walk away and leave it for a couple of days. If you’ve got it right, and it doesn’t go out, it’s a gentler way to fire larger pots and get them black.”

The sealing material may be dug from a pit or pits next to the fire-pit which may be refilled with the waste charcoal and sherds of any failed pots from the fire-pit.

Therefore the elements that one might expect to find at a pottery firing site are a fire-reddened pit or pits filled with charcoal, ash, sherds of failed pots with a windbreak to the west or south and pits from which soil has been dug to seal the fire-pit. These pits can be back-filled with the sooty failed pot sherds from the firing.

Plan of probable pottery fire-pits at Cloghabreedy, Co. Tipperary site 125-3.

Plan of probable pottery fire-pits at Cloghabreedy, Co. Tipperary site 125-3. from McQuade et al. 2009.

At Cloghabreedy, Co. Tipperary a site appears to fulfil all of these criteria. The site was excavated under the Direction of Colm Moriarty in advance of the construction of the N8 Cashel to Mitchelstown Road Scheme and is published by Colm in M. McQuade, B. Molloy and C. Moriarty (Eds.) In the Shadow of the Galtees. Archaeological excavations along the N8 Cashel to Mitchelstown Road Scheme. NRA Scheme Monographs 4, 30-31. The site consists of two sub-rectangular pits set in a line and aligned north-west to south-east with concave profiles that measure 1.37m and 1.65m long by 0.97m and 1.25m wide and 0.25m deep. The sides and bases of the pits were fire-reddened and contained charcoal fills.

Just to the east of the fire-pits was a pair of pits also filled with charcoal-rich deposits and sherds of food vessel vase and urn. Charcoal from the primary fill of one of the pits was radiocarbon dated to 2289-2014 Cal BC (UB-7377). Set 3.3m south of the fire-pits and aligned roughly east-west were nine stake-holes that appear to have supported a windbreak 7m long. This appears to have been a pottery firing site in which the leather hard vessels were placed into the fire-pit, fired under a layer of soil from the pits and then, after cooling, the material from the fire-pits was deposited back into the pits along with sherds of failed pots.

Cloghabreedy is a good example of a fire-pit because it has a number of elements, is a single period site without the complication of earlier or later features and was well excavated and published. However, where fire-pits lack associated pot sherds or windbreaks or are separated from these features by later elements recognition becomes more difficult. The conclusion is that using the insights being gained at the UCD Centre for Experimental Archaeology it will be easier in future to identify the firing sites of the prehistoric pottery industry.

References

Ó Faoláin, S. and Northover, J.P.  1998. The Technology of Late Bronze Age Sword Production in Ireland, The Journal of Irish Archaeology, Vol. 9 (1998), pp. 69-88

About the author

Dr. Charles Mount has been involved in research on the Irish Bronze Age for more than twenty years and carried out his post-graduate and doctoral research on the period. Since then he has published extensively on the burials, monuments and artefacts of the period. This blog post is partly based on research he is preparing for a book on the period. You can learn more about Charles Mount’s publications here.

Cite this post as:

Mount, C. Identifying pottery fire-pits in the archaeological record. The Charles Mount Blog, 9 May 2012. http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=825.

The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem at Kildare

The Perceptory of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem at Tully near Kildare

The Perceptory of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem at Tully near Kildare

For three hundred years the town of Kildare was host to a house of crusader knights.

The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights of Malta, originated in the early twelfth century as an international monastic order Continue reading