Chapter 1 - Pre Christian Ireland Flashcards
(31 cards)
When did human settlement begin in ireland?
10,500BC
Neolithic
New stone age (3700 - 2000BC) in Ireland. Time when farming and tool making evolved. People began to settle in permanent settlements
Megalithic
Large stone monuments and tombs
Dolmen
Simplest megalithic structure. Construction of between 3 and 7 stone legs supporting one or two large capstones. E.g, at Poulnabrone, Burren, Co. Clare
Court cairn
Combination of burial chambers inside a mound or cairn of stones with an open court in front of it
Passage grave/mound
Made by building a stone lined passage, sometimes with a burial chamber at the end, and covering it with a mound of earth and stones
What passage graves are found at Brú na Bóinne, Co. Meath?
Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange
Basin stone
Large, almost circular, low profile stone hollowed out to create a kind of basin. Seem to have been used in passages to hold cremated remains of the dead and small offerings
When does Newgrange roughly date back to?
c.3200BC
What are the walls of Newgrange made from?
White quartz stones (Wicklow, 80km away) Grey, water-worn granite (Dundalk Bay, 50km away)
Kerbstones
Large stones laid end to end surrounding the base of many passage tombs. They may have been used to define the shape of the mound and retain the filling material that formed the mound
How many kerbstones are there at Newgrange?
97 kerbstones
Corbelled vaults
Built on the standing stones of the chamber in gradually decreasing circles of large flat stones, sloping slightly inwards. These rings of stones became self-supporting as the circles became smaller until the dome could finally be closed by a single stone
Stone dressing
A stone chisel or a point driven by a hammer was used to remove rough areas of the stone and take away a thin layer of stone and improve its colour.
How were the lines and patterns created on stones in pre-christian ireland?
Cutting into the stone with sharp flint or obsidian edge or by picking with a stone chisel and hammer
When was the bronze age in Ireland?
2500-500BC
How was Bronze Age design different to Stone Age?
Stone age art was drawn freehand, whereas Bronze age was created with a compass and straight edge
How did tomb design change in the bronze age?
There were pits instead of dramatic burial sites
What is bronze?
An alloy of copper and tin. It is stronger than copper and can hold a sharp edge for longer.
How was copper obtained in the bronze age?
Copper was mined in Ireland by roasting ore-bearing rock with fire and cracking it by throwing cold water over it. The bits with the most copper oxide were smelted over a charcoal fire and poured into a stone or sand mould.
How was tin obtained in the bronze age?
Tin was imported from Cornwall in England
How was gold obtained in the bronze age?
Gold was found in nuggets or by panning alluvial deposits in rivers → a mix of sand, gravel and gold particles are dug up from the riverbed and washed with water, leaving the heavier parts, the gold, in the pan
How were early Bronze Age pieces decorated?
With simple abstract geometric patterns of circles, triangles, dots and straight lines
What is this object?
Tedavet Sun Disk
- c.2000BC
- Cut from a thin sheet of beaten gold
- Repousse
- Repeating pattern of ridges, chevrons and dots
