Focuses on the Later Mesolithic, the development of tools like Bann Flakes and Moynagh Points, settlement patterns including “persistent places,” diet, organic finds, and key sites such as Lough Boora, Mount Sandel, and Ferriter’s Cove.
Details the arrival of Ireland’s first continuous settlers by sea, their adaptation to the post-glacial environment, and the characteristics of the Earlier Mesolithic hunter-gatherer-fisher lifestyle and microlithic tool technology.
Explores the earliest sporadic human presence in Ireland during the Old Stone Age, evidence from sites like Castlepook Cave and Alice & Gwendoline Cave, set against a backdrop of dramatic Ice Age climatic shifts.
Ireland possesses a uniquely rich and remarkably well-preserved archaeological record, a testament to millennia of human endeavour, adaptation, and cultural evolution. Situated on the western fringe of Europe, its story is one of both distinct island development and periodic, transformative connections with the broader continent. This guide aims to provide a comprehensive journey through the …
Read more “The Archaeology of Ireland: from the Mesolithic to the Modern Era”
The Mesolithic period, or Middle Stone Age, represents a pivotal stage in human history, serving as a bridge between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods. In Ireland, this era is generally recognised as spanning from approximately 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, with the earliest substantial evidence of settlement appearing around 8000 BC (Heritage Council of Ireland, …
Read more “Mesolithic Archaeology of Ireland: The First Hunter-Gatherer Settlements”