ireland Prehistoric wetland archaeology

From ancient
waterways
to modern
highways
Ireland’s
prehistoric
beginnings
photo: Headland Archaeology Ltd.

O
As Ireland’s land-hungry Celtic Tiger economic n a misty morning 8,000 years
boom targeted wetland landscapes once ago, two young women pushed
their way through the head-
thought too boggy for modern development, high reeds of a tidal estuary, 6m
it became clear these sites had been home to below the busy streets of what
is now modern Dublin. As they
vibrant prehistoric communities, settled along stepped onto the shifting mud flats, their baskets,
what would have been ancient thoroughfares. wattle work and fishing ground came into view,
and they could see, even from this distance, that
Brendon Wilkins explains the evidence. it had been a bountiful evening.
They belonged to the period known as the
Mesolithic, and were the first people known to

36 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk November 2010 |

 IRELAND

Dublin
Prumplestown

Granny

have lived in Ireland, between 8000 and 4000 BC
(there is as yet no evidence for Palaeolithic occu-
pation in Ireland). The majority of artefacts were
organic and perishable, rarely surviving the life-
time of the people who made them. But it is not
just the durability of the artefacts or activities that
take place on a site that determines how much
is found. What survives is also a product of the
burial environment, which on some lucky occa-
sions can be exceptionally favourable to archaeo-
logical remains: either because it is waterlogged,
frozen, or so dry that the natural processes of
microbacterial decay are slowed to a halt. In late above Pre-excavation
2004, Melanie McQuade, a Site Director for Mar- shot of the multi-period
Prumplestown Lower site.
garet Gowen and Co., excavated just such a site.
The Early Bronze Age pit
circle is visible at centre.
Mesolithic Fisher-Foragers
During routine archaeological monitoring
development works at North Wall Quay in Dub-
lin’s Docklands, McQuade and her team found
the remarkably preserved remains of seven Late
Mesolithic fish traps dating to between 6100 and
5700 BC. These are the earliest securely dated 

| Issue 248 www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 37

 ireland Prehistoric wetland archaeology
photo: Margaret Gowen and Co Ltd.
above A Late Mesolithic
C-shaped fish trap. of the earliest examples recorded in Europe. Wet
above right This
section of beautifully
preserved wattle weir was
part of a Neolithic fish
trap that had been left on
the shore’s edge, probably
washed up by the tide.
right Earrings and blue
glass beads discovered at
Prumplestown.
below The wedge-cut
pointed end of a Late
Mesolithic fish trap.
5 cms
4
3
2
1
38 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk
fish traps in Ireland or the UK, and are also some
boggy sites adjacent to rivers – known as estua-
rine and alluvial wetlands – provide a wealth
of scientific information, but it is the record of
human presence in these landscapes that makes
them special. The fish trap remains illustrate the
value of this 70m stretch of the Liffey Estuary,
which was in use over almost three millennia of
Irish prehistory, as well as
the technological skill of
their makers – and raise
several points concerning
the social implications of
trap fishing.
At this time in Ire-
land, the population was
heavily reliant on fish, due
to the fact that the limited
native fauna provided little
opportunity for hunting.
The importance of fishing is shown by the con-
centration of Mesolithic material recovered from
lakeside, riverine and coastal settings, and is also
highlighted by the high percentage of fish bone
within assemblages of that period. In contrast to
Britain, the Irish Mesolithic was a fisher-forager
society, rather than one of hunter-gatherers.
The fishing ground
The fish traps were buried within estuarine silts,
where most of the remains were preserved in situ
at depths of 4m to 6m below sea level. They were
set to the south of a gravel shoreline about 30m
north of the existing quay wall, which repre-
sented either the northern bank of the prehistoric
channel of the Liffey, or the shore of a tidal island
within the estuary.
The fish traps and the pieces of stakes and wattle
scattered across the site were the remains of struc-
tures that operated on the principle of passive
fishing: fish in the incoming or outgoing tides
were caught in traps, and then retrieved at low
tide when the traps were accessible. The system
is separated into weirs of wattle work designed to
guide the fish, and traps
designed to catch them.
Most of the remains from
North Wall Quay were
parts of ebb weirs, which
caught fish that drifted
with the falling tide. Ebb
weirs are typically con-
structed of large wooden
fences (or stone walls) that
form a V-shape, with a
basket set at the junction
to trap the fish.
Four of the ebb weir pieces were Late Mesolithic
in date. In addition to the ebb weirs, Late Meso-
lithic dates were also obtained on a C-shaped fish
trap and a basket fragment. Evidence for a Middle
Neolithic fish trap was also discovered, which
comprised a beautifully preserved section of a
wattle weir (4.41m by 4.16m), found at the edge of
the shore where it had probably been washed up
by the tide. All the remains were so closely dated
that they could have been used by the same or
successive generations of fishermen.
The high level of preservation enabled detailed
analysis of the wood used in their construction.
The traps were made almost exclusively of hazel,
with small amounts of birch, ash and fruitwood
November 2010 |
 photo: Headland Archaeology Ltd
also used. The selection of hazel was an obvious
one, since it is a pliable wood, ideal for use as
wattling and withies. It grows in dryland areas,
however, and is unlikely to have grown in the
estuarine environment of this site – thus, the
wood must have been sourced elsewhere. Many
of the stakes from the Late Mesolithic fish traps
displayed worked ends, with most cut to a point
on the end.
These took the form of chisel (cut on one face),
wedge (two cut faces) and pencil (multiple cuts)
points. The visible tool marks were mostly flat,
although a few were concave, indicating the use
of convex, narrow bladed, smooth stone axes,
comparable to the narrower examples of such
recorded from Late Mesolithic sites.

Catch of the day

In his seminal 1986 study Reading the Irish Land-
scape, Frank Mitchell argued that dense wood-
land covered Ireland during the Mesolithic,
perhaps explaining why the majority of finds
from this period come from coastal, alluvial and
estuarine sites. The restriction on inland move-
ment meant that people would have travelled
most easily along river valleys, and the fish traps
at North Wall Quay support this picture.
Reconstruction exercises have shown that har-
vesting the raw material and manufacturing a
conical fish trap takes at least seven hours – a con-
siderable investment in time and resources. While
parts of the traps such as baskets and wattle panels
could have been constructed off-site, they would
have to have been assembled and positioned
during low tide when the estuary was accessible
from the shore; thus, the people fishing at North
Wall Quay must have lived within easy reach of top The Neolithic
the traps, so that they could harvest the fish and house discovered during
air reconnaissance of
carry out any repairs at low tide.
the route for the N25
The traps could potentially have caught any of Waterford Bypass at
the fish swimming into estuarine waters, namely Granny in Co. Kilkenny.
herring, whiting, bass, sole, trout, flounder, plaice
above Cobbles inside
and mullet, as well as seasonal runs of salmon and
the Neolithic house,
eel. Such a wide variety of fish may have facili- representing a floor
tated year-round fishing; it could then be argued surface, during excavation.
that the construction of fish weirs may have laid
left North-west wall
the foundation for a trend of sedentism and social
of the house, showing
complexity. Ireland had become isolated from packing stones.
Britain since it was originally settled around 8000
BC, developing its own distinctive settlement
pattern and material culture. Whether the drive
towards agriculture came from within the native
population, or without, there were dramatic 

| Issue 248 www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 39

 ireland Prehistoric wetland archaeology

changes happening beyond the Irish Mesolithic above Reconstructions Hearth and home
photos: Headland Archaeology Ltd

world such as the wave of colonisation that was of how the Neolithic
house at Granny was
sweeping into central Europe from the Balkans In 2004 freelance archaeologist Joanne Hughes
constructed, based on
and Western Asia. As our next site shows – an excavation information. had her suspicions, but it wasn’t until she got
early Neolithic house from the River Suir valley – an excited call from NRA Project Archaeologist
prehistoric waterways again came to the fore. James Eogan – just landed from a reconnaissance
helicopter flight along the route of the N25
Iron Age ring- Waterford Bypass – that she was convinced: the
ditch cemetery faint square outline gradually appearing beneath
her team’s busy trowels was the first Neolithic
house discovered in Co. Kilkenny. It has since
turned out to be one of the best examples so far
unearthed in Ireland.
The Neolithic period in Ireland dates broadly
Wetlands area
with trackways to between 4000 and 2500 BC, and is typified
by a change in stone technology, a reliance on
Cow mandibles found here domesticates, and a transformation in social
attitudes. It was a significant departure from
the Mesolithic life-way. Stable isotopic analysis
of Neolithic human remains indicates a general
shift in this period from marine to a terrestrial
diet, dominated by meat, bread and dairy prod-
Causewayed
Iron Age ring- ucts. Settlements were much more permanent,
ditch housing small farming communities dependent
on a narrow range of intensively managed food
sources.
Neolithic This change is expressed at the early Neolithic
timber circle house site discovered at Granny, Co. Kilkenny, on
the N25 Waterford Bypass. Surrounded by tilled
fields and penned animals, it was an isolated
dwelling on a south-facing slope overlooking the
River Suir, measuring 6.5m by 7m, and dating to
between 3950 and 3715 BC. It had been built by
Early Bronze
constructing a square foundation trench, into
Age pit circle
which postholes had been cut at regular intervals
to hold a substantial timber frame supporting
the roof. High quality stone objects, including
Neolithic chipped flakes and leaf-shaped arrowheads, were
timber circle deposited into some of these postholes, before
the posts were packed in and fastened together.
A lighter wall-cladding of split timber planks was
above Site plan of features on both then added, with packing stones wedged against
sides of the River Lerr, Prumplestown them in the foundation trench.
Lower and Woodlands West. Oak charcoal was found throughout the foun-
dation trench, suggesting that planks had been

40 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk November 2010 |

charred to preserve them prior to being placed in
the ground. The charred remains of one of these
planks was discovered in situ, and, inside the
house, rare evidence for intact floor surfaces also
emerged. The entrance was on the southern side
of the building, leading into an internal space
that roughly measured 30m². A row of stakeholes
crossed east-west dividing the house in two; this
may have held a portable wattle screen to separate
activity areas, and the majority of finds and a cob-
bled surface were found to the north of this sub-
division. Charred cereal grains of emmer wheat,
naked barley and oat were also recovered, along
with 93 sherds of pottery from at least 14 early
Neolithic carinated bowls. The team also made
the exceptional discovery of a new form of pot-
tery, with a flared concave rim and a pronounced

inward lip designed to accommodate a lid. Pos- top The cache of

sibly unique in Ireland, it suggested connections Mesolithic artefacts,
including retouched
or influences from Western Britain.
mudstone blade.
As the new ideas and technology of farming
took hold in Ireland, the surrounding seas were left Early Bronze Age pit
not so much a barrier as a connecting link to the circle.
dramatic changes taking place in Atlantic Europe.
middle left Working
The Neolithic was a radical break with the past, shot of Mid to Late
and although it also involved the movement of Bronze Age structure.
people, it should not be seen as a straightforward
bottom left Cause-
process of colonisation. Indigenous knowledge
wayed Iron Age ring-ditch
of rivers and coastline may have been an essential during excavation.
condition to the swift adoption of farming. This
continuity is well illustrated by our next site, an
exceptionally well-preserved multi-period land-
scape, where ceremonial activity purposefully
took place adjacent to a river that was prominent
in the Mesolithic.

From subsistence to ritual

Today, the River Lerr is a relatively minor stream;
however, excavations carried out by Patricia Long,
Site Director with Headlands Archaeology Ltd, in
advance of the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Carlow road
scheme, near Castledermot, Co. Kildare, revealed
that the river was the focus of an exceptionally
rich cultural landscape from the Mesolithic
through to the post-Medieval period.
Two sites, at Woodlands West and Prumple-
stown Lower, constitute a single archaeological
landscape located on either side of the River Lerr.
Densely concentrated archaeological features 

| Issue 248 www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 41

 ireland Prehistoric wetland archaeology
The Gender Agenda
When it comes to interpreting ‘mankind’s’
prehistoric past, gender roles and
stereotypes are common currency. This
is the ‘boys and arrows’ mentality, which
sees women as gatherers and men as
hunters, despite the notorious difficulties
in ascribing gender differences to
IMAGE: Sarah Nylund/Headland Archaeology Ltd
archaeological evidence.
The scene at the beginning of this article
describes two women fisher-foragers on
the River Liffey, but we are unlikely to ever
know whether the fishing ground was the
exclusive domain of women, men or both.
It seemed logical to choose women as the
protagonists of the story, however, as the
site was excavated by a woman, and the lead specialist was a woman – as was the
case with all three of the sites discussed in this article. Irish archaeologists would
probably see this as unremarkable; but in Britain, gender inequality in archaeology is
a very hot topic.
The British Women Archaeologists (BWA) was formed to address the perceived
difficulties faced by women in pursuing a fulfilling career in archaeology. No such
group exists in Ireland, a fact that is supported by figures from Discovering the
Archaeologists of Europe, a cooperative trans-national project undertaken in
2007-2008 which aimed to assess the state of employment within professional
archaeology across Europe.
According to the survey, the size of the archaeological workforce in the UK was
6,865, and 1,709 in Ireland. Of this figure, 41% were female in Britain, and 45% in
Ireland; not a tremendous disparity, but the figures also show that, in Ireland, women
hold the majority of permanently-employed positions. The implication is that the
opportunities for women to move into more senior positions is much better in
Ireland than in the UK – perhaps another unacknowledged benefit of the Celtic Tiger.
show that this remarkable and dynamic area has
been occupied since the earliest settlers arrived
in Ireland, and that the river was a magnet
for monuments associated with ritual and
burial. The topography of the area is sig-
nificant; excavated areas are dominated
by gravel ridges running on both sides
of, and parallel to, the river. A range
of features associated with burial
and ritual were found in these
well-drained gravel ridges, which
would have been inter-visible
across the river, clearly placing
the river at the centre of atten-
tion within the community.
The earliest feature on the site
right Mesolithic Bann was a pit, dated to c.7000 BC. Lithics
Flake discovered at were found on both sides of the river,
Prumplestown.
with a Mesolithic Bann flake discovered
42 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk
in silt on the north, and a pit, dated slightly later
at around 5000 BC, containing a cache of three
lithic artefacts, on the south. The deposition of
the three lithic artefacts within a pit close to a
wetland/dryland interface could be the earliest
indication of the river being used as a backdrop
for an ‘offering’. One of the artefacts was of very
soft mudstone, and may not have been practical
as a tool – but rather deliberately manufactured
to be deposited in a ritual context.
The later Neolithic saw an intensification of
activity in the area, especially on the north side
of the river. A small south-facing timber circle
was found, 5.8m in diameter and comprised 16
postholes. A pair of four-post structures, from
the same period, was also found nearby. Timber
circles have been found in association with four-
post structures elsewhere in Ireland, and are usu-
ally interpreted as ritual in nature. The timber
circle, constructed on a ridge overlooking the
river, was the first permanent ritual structure
within the site, and is likely to have been fre-
quently revisited.
Some of the most exciting evidence dates to the
Early Bronze Age. A pit circle was found close to
the summit of the southern gravel ridge, which
had no evidence of ever having contained or sup-
ported posts or stones. This monument type is
rare, and possibly unique, in an Irish context, but
close parallels are found in Britain, mostly dating
to the Neolithic period and normally associated
with henges and other ritual monuments.
A number of Bronze Age cremation burials
were identified on both sides of the river, concen-
trated along the gravel ridges in close proximity
to, but not impinging upon, the spaces defined
by the Neolithic timber circle and Early Bronze
Age pit circle. Two of these cremations yielded
glass beads, as well as three copper alloy rings
with decoration giving a ‘twisted’ effect.
The rings are of great importance as rare
Late Bronze Age burial goods, and are
examples of a new type of ornament.
Monuments and
memories
The Iron Age saw a continuation
of the use of the area for burial and
ritual, with the establishment of
a ring ditch cemetery. Two circular,
one pennanular, and one horse-
shoe-shaped ring ditch were exca-
vated on the north side of the river. The
November 2010 |
 pennanular ring ditch was less than half a metre
north of the Neolithic timber circle, and the
causewayed ring ditch was located less than 5m
from the pit circle on the south side, suggesting
that the remnants of the older monuments may
still have been visible.
Each ring ditch had its own characteristics. The
penannular ditch on the north side had a series of
deliberately deposited cattle mandibles opposite
the entrance. The horseshoe-shaped ditch had a
significant quantity of burnt bone (unidentifi-
able) in its fill. On the south side, the causewayed
ring ditch had two roughly contemporary inhu-
mation burials in the interior.
These marked differences suggest that each
ring ditch represented something unique, and
perhaps were tended by a dedicated group of
people. The picture presented by the clustering
of these monuments alongside older features,
and the wide date range returned from within
small areas, shows continuous use of the area for
burial into the Iron Age. The analogous timing,
and inter-visibility, of the monuments on either
side of the river reinforce the status of the river as
a focal point within one landscape.
With no written records, people in the past
would have formed a sense of their collective
photo: Headland Archaeology Ltd.
| Issue 248
above Damp boggy area identity through oral tradition and encounters
adjacent to the south with material culture. Monuments and earth-
side of the River Lerr,
works would have played a crucial role in this.
containing trackways.
Later generations would have had to explain this
evidence from the past, long after their original
purpose had been forgotten. The burial tradition
continued on the southern gravel ridge right into
the early Medieval period, but the ancient ritual
traditions were gradually forgotten, and the river
flowed once again through a subsistence land-
scape. The precise reasons why this river was so
left Cattle mandibles
within the Iron Age special to prehistoric people may remain a mys-
penannular ring-ditch on tery. But it is certain that the Celtic Tiger infra-
the north side of the River structure boom allowed the ancient significance
Lerr at Prumplestown. a
of the River Lerr to be rediscovered. C
SourceS further READING 
Joanne Hughes Patricia Long and Gillian McCarthy, ‘To the waters and
jhugheso@eircom.net
Patricia Long the wild: ancient hunting in County Kildare’,
trish@headlandarchaeol- Dining and Dwelling - Archaeology and the National
ogy.ie
Melanie McQuade
Roads Authority, Monograph Series No. 6. ISBN 978-
mmcquade@mglarc.com 0954595579.
Joanne Hughes, ‘Two Neolithic structures in Granny
townland, Co. Kilkenny’, Recent Archaeological
Discoveries on National Road Schemes 2004 -
Next month: Archaeology and the National Roads Authority,
Iron Age Ireland: The Monograph Series No. 2. ISBN 0-954595513.
Celtic present meets
the Celtic past Melanie McQuade & Lorna O’Donnell, ‘Late
Mesolithic fish traps from the Liffey estuary, Dublin,
Ireland’, Antiquity, Vol 81:313, 2007 pp 569-584.
www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 43