Page 9 - IRISH HISTOEY - CHAPT 1_Neat

A Bare Bones History of Ireland Chap 1

It is not known when or where the smelting of iron from ores began, but by the end of
the 2nd millennium BC iron was being produced from iron ores from at least Greece
to India, and more controversially Sub-Saharan Africa.

Watch: History of Steel https://youtu.be/7E__zqy6xcw

The Arrival of Humans in Ireland (8000 BC – 7000 BC)

The first definite evidence of human settlement in Ireland dates from 8000 to 7000 BC.
They are known from early archaeological
findings to have made an appearance in
the far north of Ireland in the lower Bann
valley near present-day Coleraine and in
the southwest in the Shannon estuary.

Mount Sandel, Derry (7000 BC)
One of the oldest and best
documented sites of early human Mount Sandel under
habitation in Ireland is Mount Sandel, excavation Wild Boar
County Derry, investigated by Peter Woodman in the 1970s. The excavations
uncovered hearths and postholes from early Mesolithic dwellings. Radiocarbon dates
show the site was occupied about 7000 - 6500 BC.
Early Mesolithic people mainly used small flint blades called microliths, many of
which have been found in the area around the site. In the absence of large animals at
this period in Ireland these Mesolithic people appear to have relied upon a diet of wild
boar, birds, fish and hazelnuts.

Céide Fields (Circa 4000 BC)
The cultivation of crops and domestication of animals
originated in the Middle East about
10,000 BC and gradually spread across Europe, reaching
Ireland about 4000 BC. This period is referred to as the
Neolithic or New Stone Age.
Evidence of Stone Age farming survives in the Céide
Fields in north County Mayo. Discovered in the 1930s,
they are the world's oldest known extant field system and
among the world's most extensive Stone Age ruins.

Lough Gur (circa 3000 BC)
Lough Gur in County Limerick is one of the most important and remarkable
archaeological landscapes in Ireland. This small,
horseshoe-shaped lake has been surrounded by
human settlements and activity going back over
5,000 years during the Neolithic period.
This was a time of Ireland’s first farmers, people
who began the back-breaking labour of clearing
the vast forests that covered Ireland. The climate
was a little warmer and drier than it is now and
ideal for cereal cultivation. Lough Gur is possibly
most famous for its Neolithic Settlements.
Lough Gur, Co. Limerick

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