Early History of Ireland - The Bronze Age

The introduction of metal that would come to				around the Boyne Valley. They were made by
replace stone was clearly a significant one, and so				scraping earth from the centre outwards to form
it proved to be for the Bronze Age in Ireland.				a ridge all around it and can be between 100 and
Metals such as copper and tin, mixed to make				200 metres in diameter. Inside these are the
bronze allowed the creation of a better material				remains of what would most likely have been
that could be used for tools and weapons. These				wooden posts. The bones of animals were also
new metals could be easily forged and shaped				found there. It does suggest that these henges
into place much easier than anything that could be				were used for some type of ceremony.
done with the use of stone.				Stone circles also form part of the Irish landscape
The Bronze age lasted from 2000 BC until 500				and consist of varying sizes of stones placed in a
BC, and in this time, the country was colonised by				circular fashion. Again it is assumed that these
the Celts. The first notable find by historians that				were used for some type of ceremonial
validated this, was the discovery of what is				behaviour. In Ulster the best example of these
known as "Beaker pottery." The actual roots of				can be found in Beaghmore in County Tyrone.
how this type of pottery ware came to be in				Ireland certainly had an abundance of copper and
Ireland is unclear, but it has also been found				at Mount Gabriel in County Cork, there are some
throughout Europe and Britain and is generally				of the few prehistoric copper mines known in
associated with ceremonial burials. It is also				Europe Over thirty shafts have been found. The
representative of the Celtic people. What is also				main item produced from the Bronze Age were
quite noticeable on the Ireland landscape is what				copper axe heads that had been alloyed with
are known as "dolmens." They are distinct as				arsenic to make them tougher. When copper was
they consist of three upright stones with a flat				mixed with tin then a much harder metal was
capstone balanced on top, that forms the central				formed and this led to the production of awls,
chamber of a grave mound. In this modern age				daggers, chauldrons and horns.
they stand vividly out against the Irish skyline, but				Many of these objects were decorated with
in the Bronze age these would have been buried.				motifs and this also informs us that gold was
Similar dolmens can be found in Cornwall, England				being used for the first time. They can best be
and in Brittany. Again proof that Ireland had				seen in what are known as gold lunnula This would
indeed met the influence of the Celts.				have been made from a thin sheet of gold, which
We also see the introduction of "wedge tombs"				would then have been hammered into shape.
found in the more western parts of Ireland and				Other type of this ornate work would have
these are associated with the French Celts. They				included a sun-disc which included two pierced
are a basic stone chamber which would have				holes, indicating that it may have been attached
been covered by earth, and had a single entrance				to a garment.
which in most cases faced South-West. They are				In the latter part of the Bronze Age, thicker gold
found throughout Ireland in Ulster, Connaught and				would have been used to make bracelets and
Munster.				neck ornaments known as torcs. It is best
Another physical sign of that time and still to be				assumed that gold would have been panned from
seen on Irish landscapes was the creation of				rivers, or perhaps even imported. It does seem
henge., These form in a circle and were most				pretty clear that highly detailed gold carvings were
likely used for some type of ceremonial gathering.				most certainly one of the earliest fashion
The highest concentration of these is in and				accessories to start in Ireland.