PRE- CRISTIAN IRELAND (STONE AGE)

Neolithic Age 3700-2000 B.C.

 

Around 3700 B.C. the hunter gatherers and fishermen were replaced with people from central Europe, who travelled to Ireland through England or Scotland. What we know about these farmers comes from their stone graves called megalithic tombs. They placed importance on life after death by building imposing resting placed for the dead rather than for the living.

 

These people were organised farmers with complex social groups. They brought livestock with them, they cleared forests and the whole island had regular contact with land overseas.

 

The people who made Newgrange were intelligent and organised, farmers and had a good knowledge of astronomy. They set a lot of importance on ritual symbolism.

They used the river to transport materials, therefore had good knowledge of engineering. They lived in wattle and daub huts.

 

Megalithic (large stone) Burial Monuments

• Portal Dolmen

Ex. Poulnabrone, Burren Landscape, Co. Clare

       Ardara, Co. Donegal

170 in total around Ireland

Between 3 and 7 standing stones supporting 1 or 2 capstones

Single slabs rested against back to form the chamber.

• Court Cairns

Most court cairns are found in the northern part of Ireland

Has a rectangular or circular burial chamber, with a corbelled roof.

The chamber would serves as the tomb and the court would hold the rituals

• Passage Graves

1 or 2 chambers in the centre of a large mound of earth or stone, reached by a passage.

 

Newgrange

 

Located in the Boyne Valley Co. Meath

Constructed around 3000-2000

 

• Structure

11m in height and 85m in diameter

The passage is 21m long, it is lines and roofed with large stones and slopes gently upwards.

There is one main chamber and 3 niches, with stone basins

Roof of chamber is corbelled, layers of flattish stone in circles, each layer moving further inwards than the one below, until closed by single stone at the top. Stones tilted downwards to stop water entering the chamber

Once there stood 32 standing stones (monoliths) now there are only 12, believed to be used for astronomical observations. Now believed not to be contemporary with the mound.

97 kerbstones form the perimeter of the mound and a wall of white quartz stone stands on top. 

• Function

Burial chamber, evidence of at least 5 burials being preformed

Used for ceremonies and rituals

Burial chamber lights upon the 21^st of December, which also helped it function as a calendar to the people.

Number of cremated remains found is relatively small compare to the size of the community and the length of time for which the mounds were used. This suggests that only important members of the community were buried there or that they were ritual or sacrificial burials.

Some believe tat the designs on the stones relate to the movements of sun, moon and planets, which would have been a way to keep track of the seasons and important community events

 

• Technique

The building of a large structure like Newgrange was a momentous task for people of the Stone Age as their technology was limited to what hey could carry, pull or lever into place, and there was no animals to carry the burdens and the when was not invented yet. It is believed that they may have used logs to roll the kerbstones which weighed up to 5 tons across the probably forested countryside. It has been estimated that it could have taken 80 men three weeks per kerbstone to travel the 15 km from the quarry from which the stones were taken, which works out about o be 50 years for one mound ant this rate.

The Stone Age people obviously from there amazing commitment had a very deep belief in the meaning and function of these tombs, as they were not even used for their own benefit of shelter. It also suggests that the society was well established and they had time to make wondrously huge tombs.

Construction probably began with the layout of the passages as their orientation to the sun was an essential part of the purpose. The line kerb would have been laid out early on as it was the retaining structure for the body of the mound.

 

• Decoration

Decoration mainly consisted of geometric motifs; circles, spirals, arcs, zig zags, lozenges, diamonds, dots in circles , wavy parallel or radial lines, concentric circles and rectangles. The entire stone was pitched first with a fine point to remove the original weathered surface. They used a stone hammer and a pointed flint stone and this was called chip and flint carving.

 

Entrance stone

Carved with pointed flint stone and hammer, the channels on this are 4cm wide.

On the far left there are lozenges, and as we move right we can see a triple spiral, then two double spirals surrounded by waves, curves and zig zags.

 

Kerbstone 52

Situated opposite the entrance stone. Highly decorated but less harmoniously than the entrance stone. Consists of 3 sections. Diamonds on the bottom left, spirals on the top left and group of concentric circles with dots and rectangles

 

 

Above the entrance to the passage there is a roof box, the lintel above this is decorated with radiating triangle carvings.