Ireland’s Neolithic (late stone age) period began around 4000 BC. and is marked by the introduction of farming techniques.
Farming had first appeared around 10,000BC, in the Middle East and from Anatolia and Mesopotamia had slowly spread into Europe. Cattle, sheep and goats and grain were ferried across the narrow sea between Antrim and Scotland by new migrants in dugout canoes and possibly skin-covered boats. They also brought with them knowledge of pottery making. It was simple, clay formed into ropes and coiled round and round to form a pot shape then heated in a fire. Sometimes the pot would have a simple design such as indentations from stones or fingers.
Ireland during the Neolithic Period
These new incomers found a land that was sparsely inhabited and heavily forested with oak, elm, alder, and hazel. The hills and mountains were clothed with pine and birch woods.
Those who arrived on Irish soil would clear an area and work it until the ground became infertile, then they would up camp and move somewhere else. It was this style of settlement which would cause the exhausted soil to evolve into the peat bogs. It is probable that the first inhabitants of Mesolithic Irelandwould have learned and adopted these new ideas from the new-comers.
Neolithic tools used in Ireland
Around this period too, there was an improvement in the climate as temperatures, on average, rose. This would have helped in the introduction of barley and wheat. The microliths of the late Mesolithic period began to be replaced by heavier polished axes which were better suited to fell trees. These axes were made from porcellanitic which is much harder than flint. It was mined near Cushendall on the Antrim coast and on Rathlin Island.
Whilst finds of Neolithic axes have been made throughout Ireland, though mainly in Ulster, they have also been found in the south of England which suggests a two-way trade existing between Ireland and Britain. It is estimated that over 18,000 of these ancient axes have been found in Ireland alone.
Neolithic farming & communities
This new agriculture would allow for population growth and larger communities. New more developed houses began to replace the sapling and branch shelters of the past. In 1969, at Ballynagilly in County Tyrone, the remains of one of these new houses were discovered. It was rectangular in shape and measured six meters by six and a half meters. It had wattle and daub walls supported by oak uprights and substantial posts supported a thatch roof.
Similar discoveries were made in Limerick and inCampsie about three miles north of Derry on the east bank of the River Foyle. Also in the nearby Ballyarnett, a town-land about the same distance from Derry but on the west side of the Foyle, at the foot of the Inishowen peninsula. At Ballyarnett, burned arrow-heads and wooden palisades indicate the possibility of warfare. Carefully placed artefacts in a particular area may give an indication of ritual.
How these farming communities laid out their fields, was discovered in a County Mayo bog, when, Dr.Seamus Caulfield began to investigate deposits of stones that his father Patrick had discovered in the 1930s when digging his turf. He was to uncover a complex of fields, divided by dry stone walls, dwellings and megalithic burial mounds that covered an area of 12 km². The area, the largest such complex in the world and known as The Céide Fields, has been designated a World Heritage site by Unesco. It is unique in that it permits one to see the whole spectrum of society at one time, the dwellings, the laid out farmland and the monuments to the dead which also indicate a belief system in an after-life.
Neolithic monuments & burials in Ireland
Neolithic monuments and burials in Ireland are among the most remarkable remnants of the prehistoric era, reflecting the early inhabitants' complex social and spiritual lives. The period saw the construction of megalithic monuments in Ireland, including passage tombs, court cairns, dolmens, and wedge tombs, each with distinct architectural features.
Passage tombs, like those at Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth in the Boyne Valley, are particularly significant, featuring long, narrow passages leading to burial chambers. These structures are often aligned with astronomical events, such as the winter solstice, indicating an advanced understanding of the cosmos. Newgrange, for example, is famous for its precisely aligned entrance, where the rising sun illuminates the inner chamber at dawn on the winter solstice. The tombs are built with large stones, some of which are intricately carved with spirals, chevrons, and other abstract motifs, showing a deep symbolic meaning and artistry. Maeve’s Cairn remains the largest unexcavated passage graves in Europe.
Burials within these monuments were typically collective, with remains often cremated and placed in the chambers, possibly reflecting communal beliefs in the afterlife. Grave goods such as pottery, tools, and personal ornaments have been found within these tombs, suggesting a belief in an afterlife where such items were needed.
Court cairns, like Creevykeel Court Cairn, have open courtyards leading to the burial chamber, possibly used for ritual and social activities. There are over 400 Court cairns in Ireland and mostly concentrated on the top half of the island. Creevykeel, large for its size, was expanded on several time and used into the Iron Age and early Christian period,
Dolmens, such as the Poulnabrone Dolmen Megalithic Tomb, with their characteristic large capstone supported by upright stones, are thought to have served as markers for communal burials or as memorials. The distribution of these monuments across Ireland highlights the widespread nature of Neolithic communities and their shared cultural practices. Overall, these structures provide valuable insights into the religious, social, and technological developments of Ireland's early farmers.
References
- Killian D, (2006), The Mesolithic and Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition in Ireland. National University of Ireland, Galway. Lithics Ireland Consultancy
- Cooney, G. (1999 ) Landscapes of Neolithic Ireland. Routledge
- Neolithic Settlement. Significant Unpublished Irish Archaeological Excavations 1930-1997. An Chomhairle Oidhreachta, The Heritage Council.
- Bardon, J. (2008) A History of Ireland in 250 Episodes. Gill & Macmillan Ltd
