The Neolithic period was ultimately the origins of the first farming communities in Ireland. The settlers arrived in Ireland from Britain bringing new technology and animals such as cows, pigs and goats with them. This in turn dramatically increased the number of mammals in Ireland. They also brought with them barley and wheat. This spread of farming had spread from the Middle East through Eastern and southern Europe reaching Ireland around 4000BC. The development of agriculture is profound as for thousands of years previous to 4000BC Irish settlers were known as hunter-gatherers who spend their time scavenging for food. The Neolithic settlers set about clearing upland forest (which was thinner and easier to clear than lowland forest) with stone axes, or by burning it, in order to build their permanent farms. The domestication of animals and plants made it possible for the Neolithic to support a sedentary lifestyle thus leading to the growth of large farming communities. In Ireland a mixed farming economy required advanced social structures in order to construct field boundaries as is evident in the Ceide Fields, Co. Mayo. Neolithic settlers would have had a relatively short life expectancy, reflected in their attention to the afterlife, highlighting that they had very complex religious backgrounds. In contrast to their major investment in burial tombs are the insignificant houses that they constructed from wattle and daub. While the tombs have left a huge visible impact on our landscape the houses of the period have left no visible impact on our landscape.
The Neolithic settlers had complex religious beliefs and a highly developed sense of aesthetic which together led to a burial custom which has left the greatest impression on the Irish landscape as seen in both pollen and faunal records. These megalithic burial monuments are perhaps the most important legacy left behind by the first farmers as they are represented in Ireland on a very big scale. Passage tombs, Wedge tombs, Court tombs and Portal tombs are all an important feature of the landscape. Countrywide approximately 1500 burial tombs have been identified with the only in the southern midlands and parts of Munster are the tombs largely absent. Four types of burial tombs have been identified on the basis of excavations and distributions throughout the years namely Court Tombs, Portal Tombs, Passage Tombs and Wedge Tombs. Court tombs are concentrated in the northern parts of the county with only seven tombs occurring south of a line from Dundalk Bay to Clifton. Portal tombs are also predominantly found in the north with some also evident in parts of Galway, Cork and Clare. Perhaps the most famous of all Portal tombs is that of the Proleek Dolman in Co. Meath. Passage tombs are known to be found in both the north and the east with them being a very rare occurrence in other parts of the country. A conspicuous belt of cemeteries containing passage tombs lies along the northern edge of the Central Lowlands. Wedge tombs are late Neolithic places of burial and are the most numerous category of megalithic tomb evident in Ireland. They are found in the West of Ireland with over 120 sites in Clare alone and approximately the same in Munster. The following are examples of the most famous tombs that have survived from the Neolithic era situated in the Boyne Valley. The Megalithic Passage Tomb at Newgrange was built approximately 3200 BC. The mound covers an area of over one acre and is surrounded by 97 kerbstones. The mound consists of a 19 meter long inner passage that leads to a cross shaped chamber with a corbelled roof. It is estimated that the construction of the Passage Tomb at Newgrange would have taken a work force of 300 at least 20 years. Significantly Newgrange was built with a purpose. The sunrise on the 24th September sends a beam of light through the ‘roof-box’ to illuminate the rear chamber of the tomb. The Neolithic were therefore extremely intelligent individuals as the planning of Newgrange was done without any mathematical instruments and architectural props. This highlights the great dedication employed by the Neolithic people and shows how they had extremely complex religious beliefs and burial customs. Another great Neolithic mound exists at Knowth. The Mound was built over 5000 years ago after the construction of and before the construction of . The site at Knowth is similar to that at Newgrange however it is not as significant. It is surrounded by 18 smaller mounds. Unlike Newgrange Knowth has two passageways with entrances on opposite sides, the western passage is 34 meters long and the is 40 meters long and like Newgrange it has a cross shaped chamber. Dowth is mythically known as the “Fairy Mound of Darkness” and is not unlike Newgrange and Knowth. Two passage tombs have been discovered at Dowth with much of the mound being severely damaged. The passage tombs are not as fascinating as those in Newgrange and Knowth as they are much smaller. Similar to the latter two it also has a cross shaped chamber and a corbelled roof. It is thought that the surrounding areas of these great passage tombs were a settled farming landscape at the times when the tombs were built. The mounds on which the tombs were laid down are of great significance in stabilising it. It is important to remember that Newgrange for example had a corbelled roof thus preventing water from getting inside the monument. The construction of megalithic tombs involved extensive exploitation of the natural resources of the immediate countryside and would have altered the Irish landscape greatly. Sods of soil would have been used to stabilise the larger burial tombs. The monuments were designed and constructed in order to be seen and to dominate the landscape, their conspicuous indicates that forestlands were cleared in order for them to be built. According to environmental evidence Newgrange was built on open farmland cleared during the five centuries preceding its construction.
A major aesthetic component of Neolithic society was their concentration on art. Many of the passage tombs carry a distinctive art of spirals and circles. Neolithic art was of huge symbolic significance which unfortunately we are ignorant to. This beautiful art was carved onto the walls of monuments and also on large kerbstones and consisted of many different images from ships and trees to sun symbols and star maps. This art is still prominent in Ireland’s physical landscape. The Boyne Valley is pre-eminent in Europe for its richness of Neolithic art. With over 600 decorated stones in the Boyne representing over two thirds of European megalithic art and almost four fifths of the decorated passage tombstones in Ireland.
As mentioned earlier few Neolithic houses have been found in comparison to the large amount of burial monuments. This is because the Neolithic houses were not made from stone they were constructed with wood and so all that remains in the soil are the foundation trenches in which the outer walls were set, traces of hearths and refuse and small remains of artefacts including pottery. While it is thought that Neolithic settlements were widespread this is not evident in many parts of the country due to the spread of blanket bog which has buried the ancient remains. Both round houses and rectangular houses have been revealed and it was in the making of such houses that the physical landscapes of Ireland were altered in order to create a space of habitation. At Tankerstown in Co. Limerick two Neolithic houses were found. The houses lay 20metres apart and were both rectangular in shape. The first house measured 7.4 metres by 6.4 metres and had been built of split-oak planks set vertically in a trench. A patch of oxidised clay was found indicating were an hearth was and inside many artefacts were uncovered including an arrow-head of flint and pottery. The second house was much bigger and was also divided into three parts evident from the placements of the postholes. It is not clear why the house was split into three parts however an obvious guess would be to say that this enabled them to section the house using each section for a different function, for example a cooking room, storage room and a sleeping room. Neolithic settlements have been found in Knockadoon in Co. Limerick, Ballynagilly in Co. Tyrone, Knocknarea in Co. Sligo and Townleyhall in Co. Louth. The Neolithic houses give us an insight of the domestic arrangements that existed at the time. The excavations have provided us with knowledge of the plants that formed a part of their stable diet. Emmer wheat, hazelnuts and crab-apple have all been noted along with a form of domesticated wheat found on pottery.
Into Ireland the Neolithic brought with them many technological materials as well as domesticated plants and animals. They brought with them pottery and stone axes for felling the dense forest lands of the landscape. A new technology introduced to Ireland by the Neolithic settlers was the use of porcellanite to produce stone axes. This stone that is tougher than the flint used by the Mesolithic settlers. It was essential an essential weapon and it is what allowed them to make way for their settlements and places of worship. From archaeological evidence we have learned that porcellanite was mined in Co. Antrim, in Northern Ireland, and two sites here have been excavated by archaeologists: Rathlin Island and Cushendall. Another technology that the Neolithic settlers brought to Ireland was pottery. Enough fragments of Neolithic pots have been found in Ireland for it to be reasonably certain how they were made; usually by coiling clay round and round to build up a simple pot shape. Some pots have been artistically decorated with spiral designs. The pot is then hardened by placing it in a hot fire. The pots were used for many things such as for storing food. In passage tombs a type of hemispherical bowls have been found and such items have been named Carrowkeel Ware after numerous finds were recorded from Co. Sligo. As they were found in tombs it has been suggested that they may have been used for funeral ceremonies however this theory is unclear as they have also been found in domestic sites.
It is evident in this essay that the use of the Irish landscape is a useful way of looking at how the Neolithic settlers constructed and perceived their daily lives. The Neolithic people lived a very ordinary way of life, they lived around places that were within walking distance and while their ambit may have covered a large area their perspective would have been a local one. It is the relationship that the Neolithic settlers had with our landscape that allows us to reflect upon their settlement patterns. The many surviving megalithic burial tombs inform us that the landscape was altered greatly in order to construct such monstrosities.
Cooney, G. Landscapes of Neolithic Ireland. (2000, Dublin).
Cooney, G. Landscapes of Neolithic Ireland. (2000, Dublin).
Aalen,F.H.A., Whelan, K. & Stout, M. Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape. (1997,Cork University Press). Pg4
Mitchell, F. & Ryan, M. Reading the Irish Landscape. (2001, TownHouse Dublin). Pg 155
Mitchell, F. & Ryan, M. Reading the Irish Landscape. (2001, TownHouse Dublin). Pg 155
Aalen,F.H.A., Whelan, K. & Stout, M. Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape. (1997,Cork University Press). Pg 37
Aalen,F.H.A., Whelan, K. & Stout, M. Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape. (1997,Cork University Press). Pg 33
Aalen,F.H.A., Whelan, K. & Stout, M. Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape. (1997,Cork University Press). Pg 34 & 35
Retrieved on 10 February 2008 from: http://www.knowth.com/newgrange.htm
Retrieved on 10 February 2008 from: http://www.knowth.com/knowth.htm
Retrieved on 10 February 2008 from: http://www.knowth.com/dowth.htm
Aalen,F.H.A., Whelan, K. & Stout, M. Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape. (1997,Cork University Press). Pg171
Mitchell, F. & Ryan, M. Reading the Irish Landscape. (2001, TownHouse Dublin). Pg 178 & 179
Mitchell, F. & Ryan, M. Reading the Irish Landscape. (2001, TownHouse Dublin). Pg 178
Mitchell, F. & Ryan, M. Reading the Irish Landscape. (2001, TownHouse Dublin). Pg 174
Cooney, G. Landscapes of Neolithic Ireland. (2000, Dublin).