DOCSLIB.ORG

Creggandevesky Court Tomb, Tyrone 1979 – 1982 CAF DSR 045 ______

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Creggandevesky Court Tomb, Tyrone 1979 – 1982 CAF DSR 045 ______ Creggandevesky Court Tomb, Tyrone 1979 – 1982 CAF DSR 045 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology Queen’s University Belfast Data Structure Report: No. 045 Excavations at Creggandevesky, Co. Tyrone On behalf of 1 Data structure report: Creggandevesky, 1979 – 1982 Janet L. Bell and Claire Foley CAF DSR 045 SMR No. Tyrone 037:014 Grid ref. H 6469 7503 Creggandevesky Court Tomb, Tyrone 1979 – 1982 CAF DSR 045 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Contents 1. Summary 1 2. Introduction 5 3. Monument description 10 4. Excavation 19 5. Discussion 54 6. Recommendations for further work 72 Bibliography 75 Appendix 1: Context list 78 Appendix 2: Harris matrix 89 Appendix 3: Photographic record 97 Appendix 4: List of field drawings and post-excavation illustrations 127 Appendix 5: Finds register 131 Appendix 6: Samples register 160 Appendix 7: Bone report (prepared by Leonard Wilkinson) 169 Appendix 8: Phosphate samples (prepared by F. Hammond) 178 Appendix 9: Soil sample analysis (prepared by Jim Cruickshank) 179 Appendix 10: Pollen analysis (prepared by Adelaide Goddard) 181 Appendix 11: A note on the Neolithic stone beads recovered from the 198 Creggandevesky court tomb, County Tyrone (prepared by John D. J. O’Keeffe) Appendix 12: Analysis of grain impression (prepared by Mick Monk) 201 Appendix 13: Radiocarbon dates (prepared by Gordon Pearson) 203 Creggandevesky Court Tomb, Tyrone 1979 – 1982 CAF DSR 045 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ List of illustrations Figure 1: Location map I 9 Figure 2: Location map II 9 Figure 3: Collapsed cairn material before excavation 11 Figure 4: Plan of court tomb showing main features 12 Figure 5: The court area and facades 14 Figure 6: Orthostats in the burial gallery 16 Figure 7: Stone revetment 18 Figure 8: Features in the court area 22 Figure 9: Contexts F18 and F51 in the court area 26 Figure 10: Plan of features in the burial gallery 29 Figure 11: Plan of features to south of monument 37 Figure 12: Features in front of south-east facade 39 Figure 13: Features cut into context L10/20 41 Figure 14: Features cut into context L12 43 Figure 15: Features cut into context L6 48 Figure 16: Features stratigraphically later in context L6 51 Figure 17: Modern ploughmarks (context F6) 53 Figure 18: Court tombs in County Tyrone 55 Figure 19: Distribution of Court tombs (after Waddell 2000) 56 Figure 20: Plans of selected Cotswold-Severn tombs (after Darvill 1982) 58 Figure 21: Typical plan of Clyde tombs (after Noble 2005) 60 Creggandevesky Court Tomb, Tyrone 1979 – 1982 CAF DSR 045 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Summary 1.1 Background 1.1.1 The four seasons of excavations at Creggandevesky were carried out from 1979 – 1982, directed by Claire Foley. The court tomb at Creggandevesky is located on the edge of the Sperrin mountain range (Grid ref. H64597503). The immediate environs of the site is mostly upland pasture and blanket bog. Before excavation the monument was recognisable as a long cairn aligned north-west to south-east, but was obscured by bog around its perimeter, and grass and heather over its top. There had been no previous excavations at the site. The Historic Monuments and Buildings Branch, Department of the Environment Northern Ireland purchased the land on which the site stood in 1984 and the monument is now in State Care. 1.2 Objectives 1.2.1 The excavation was prompted because the landowner (Mr. McCartan) wanted to remove the cairn and level the hill to fill an adjacent sand quarry and create more pasture. The initial excavation objective, therefore, was to excavate and remove the cairn and investigate any pre-cairn activity. As the excavation progressed and the well-preserved court tomb was uncovered the owner decided not to continue with the reclamation scheme. Consequently, the excavation objectives changed. It was decided that the area around the site would still be excavated to try and ascertain if there was any pre-monument activity. The excavation of the court area and the burial gallery would continue, but the cairn and revetment would be left intact as it was no longer necessary to remove the monument. 1.3 Excavation 1.3.1 A rectangular area 26.00m by 19.00m was laid out around the visible cairn material, with the long axis aligned north-east to south-west. This area was divided into quadrants. As the court tomb was exposed it became clear that the quadrants imposed on the site were not the best way to excavate the interior of the cairn. For recording purposes, therefore, the tomb was divided into the court area and the burial chambers I, II and III. 1.3.2 The court tomb was trapezoidal in shape and measured 13.50m across the south- east end of the monument, tapering to 6.80m at the north-west end. Extensive deposits of collapsed cairn material obscured the outline of the monument before excavation. When this was removed, the cairn was seen to be revetted for its full 1 Creggandevesky Court Tomb, Tyrone 1979 – 1982 CAF DSR 045 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ extent by stone walling. The back of the tomb measured 6.80m wide, and was largely defined by a single course of stone. Two flat facades at the ends of the ‘horns’ enclosing the court area were also revetted. The court area was at the widest, south-east end of the cairn. It measured 6.00m wide along the front between the two south-west facing facades, and was 5.00m deep. The arms were defined by two sets of spaced orthostats interspersed with panels of dry-stone walling. The entrance to the burial gallery was made of two portal stones supporting a lintel. The burial gallery was 9.50m long and was divided into three chambers by two pairs of jambs. 1.3.3 There were six phases of activity associated with the monument: Definite pre-cairn activity, possible pre-cairn/construction activity, construction activity, construction and burial activity, burial and abandonment and modern deposits. Individual deposits and features could not always be closely phased within the stratigraphic sequence. 1.3.4 Phase 1: Definite pre-cairn activity Definite pre-cairn activity was represented by a small trench cut into the sand and gravel sub-soil (context F75) and a square-cut feature to the east of this. These features were covered by a mixed soil deposit (context L13/27/28) into which was cut a shallow pit projecting from under the south-west facade of the cairn (context F68). 1.3.5 Phase 2: Possible pre-cairn/construction activity This phase consisted of a series of features and post holes cut into the mixed soil deposit in the court area (context L13/27/28), the sand and gravel sub-soil in chambers I and II (context L21 and L19), and a dark orange silt (context L23) and grey streaked soil (context L18) in chamber III. There were few inter-relationships between these cut features and deposits, and it was not possible to stratigraphically relate them to the construction of the court tomb. Consequently it is uncertain whether they pre- or post-date the construction of the cairn. 1.3.6 Phase 3: Construction activity The orthostats and associated sockets, including the sockets for the two robbed orthostats from chamber III (contexts F21 and F22), represent phase 3, the construction of the tomb. The monument was probably constructed by first setting the orthostats for the burial gallery and court area in the correct position. The cairn was then built up around these orthostats. The sockets associated with orthostats in the court area were cut into the mixed soil deposit that covered the court area (context L13/27/28). The sockets in chamber I were cut into the sand and gravel sub- soil (context L21) while in chamber III they were cut into dark orange stony silt (context L23). There was no evidence that suggested the court tomb had been significantly altered after its initial construction. There was some evidence for 2 Creggandevesky Court Tomb, Tyrone 1979 – 1982 CAF DSR 045 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ secondary activity, such as the removal of the back orthostats in chamber III, the possible repositioning of the corner stone (context O1) in the court area, and the deposition of burials into the collapsed cairn material. 1.3.7 Phase 4: Construction and burial activity This was the construction and usage phase of the monument. This was represented by a bright yellow clay (context L17) redeposited from the digging of two sockets at the rear of chamber III (contexts F21 and F22) from which several grave goods were found. 1.3.8 Phase 5: Burial and abandonment This phase was represented by the surface of the sand and gravel sub-soil (context L21) in chambers I and II and the surface of a bright yellow clay (context L17) in chamber III, which were contemporary with the burial phase of the monument. The collapse of the monument was also included in phase 5. The collapsed roof of sandstone slabs in the chambers and the accumulation of soils around them lay directly on the surface of the sand and gravel sub-soil (context L21). Grey sandy soil accumulated in the court area (context L14) above a yellow sandy soil (context L13) onto which the collapsed cairn material had accumulated. Although it cannot be proved from the stratigraphical record, it is a reasonable assumption to make that the cairn would not have collapsed in one event, but would have been a series of events spread over a period of time. Cremated bone and other artefacts found in the collapsed cairn material suggests a period of secondary burial use before the complete abandonment of the monument.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • & Autres Terres Celtiques
    BRETAGNE & autres Terres celtiques Jean-Louis Pressensé, libraire Catalogue 48 Décembre 2013 1 Jean-Louis Pressensé, libraire Catalogue 48 Généralités, macédoines, etc. BRETAGNE & 1. (Celtomanes , Antiquaires & Bretonistes) Académie celti- que. Collectif. Mémoires de l'Académie celtique, ou Re- AUTRES TERRES cherches sur les Antiquités celtiques, gauloises et françaises. I/V. P., Dubray. 1807-08-09-09-10. 4 vol. in-8°, sobres rel. 1/2 bas. + 1 vol. in-8° débroché (sous couv. fact.), de CELTIQUES (3)+20+440pp & 6 pl. h-t., (6)+474pp & 7 pl. h-t dt 1 dépl., 504pp & 3 dépl. h-t, 508pp & 5 pl. dt 3 dépl., 520pp & 5 pl. dépl. h-t. ; Généralités 001-056 mouill. passim, ensemble disparate mais rarissime, surtout Nos ancêtres les Mégalithiques 057-074 complet de ses vingt-six planches gravées 900 € Indo-Européens et Celtes 075-233 A partir du t. III le titre devient : Mémoires de l'Acad. Celtique, ou Bretagne & Bretons 234-482 Mémoires d'antiquités celtiques… Dont : Moyen Age 407-457 Brittany 483-507 2. (Celtomanes , Antiquaires & Bretonistes) Académie celti- Vieille langue de nos Pères 508-631 que. Collectif. Mémoires de l'Académie celtique [ou Mé- Les Celtes parlent aux Celtes 632-664 moires d'antiquités celtiques, gauloises et françaises]. Tome Chrétientés celtiques (médiévales) 665-722 III complet en 3 livraisons. P., Dubray. 1809. 3 fasc. in-8° Cymru, Pays de Galles 723-756 brochés, couv. impr., de 504pp (pagin. continu), 3 pl. gravées h.- Kernow, Cornouailles 757-764 t., index ; beaux ex. ; contrib. Johanneau, Lenoir, Legonidec, Erin, Irlande 765-841 Mangourit, Baudouin (de Maisonblanche), Rallier, Pictet… 150 € Alba, Ecosse 842-892 Linguistique, philologie 893-941 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Sacred Places Europe: 108 Destinations
    Reviews from Sacred Places Around the World “… the ruins, mountains, sanctuaries, lost cities, and pilgrimage routes held sacred around the world.” (Book Passage 1/2000) “For each site, Brad Olsen provides historical background, a description of the site and its special features, and directions for getting there.” (Theology Digest Summer, 2000) “(Readers) will thrill to the wonderful history and the vibrations of the world’s sacred healing places.” (East & West 2/2000) “Sites that emanate the energy of sacred spots.” (The Sunday Times 1/2000) “Sacred sites (to) the ruins, sanctuaries, mountains, lost cities, temples, and pilgrimage routes of ancient civilizations.” (San Francisco Chronicle 1/2000) “Many sacred places are now bustling tourist and pilgrimage desti- nations. But no crowd or souvenir shop can stand in the way of a traveler with great intentions and zero expectations.” (Spirituality & Health Summer, 2000) “Unleash your imagination by going on a mystical journey. Brad Olsen gives his take on some of the most amazing and unexplained spots on the globe — including the underwater ruins of Bimini, which seems to point the way to the Lost City of Atlantis. You can choose to take an armchair pilgrimage (the book is a fascinating read) or follow his tips on how to travel to these powerful sites yourself.” (Mode 7/2000) “Should you be inspired to make a pilgrimage of your own, you might want to pick up a copy of Brad Olsen’s guide to the world’s sacred places. Olsen’s marvelous drawings and mysterious maps enhance a package that is as bizarre as it is wonderfully acces- sible.
    [Show full text]
  • Sacred Places Europe: 108 Destinations
    Reviews from Sacred Places Around the World “… the ruins, mountains, sanctuaries, lost cities, and pilgrimage routes held sacred around the world.” (Book Passage 1/2000) “For each site, Brad Olsen provides historical background, a description of the site and its special features, and directions for getting there.” (Theology Digest Summer, 2000) “(Readers) will thrill to the wonderful history and the vibrations of the world’s sacred healing places.” (East & West 2/2000) “Sites that emanate the energy of sacred spots.” (The Sunday Times 1/2000) “Sacred sites (to) the ruins, sanctuaries, mountains, lost cities, temples, and pilgrimage routes of ancient civilizations.” (San Francisco Chronicle 1/2000) “Many sacred places are now bustling tourist and pilgrimage desti- nations. But no crowd or souvenir shop can stand in the way of a traveler with great intentions and zero expectations.” (Spirituality & Health Summer, 2000) “Unleash your imagination by going on a mystical journey. Brad Olsen gives his take on some of the most amazing and unexplained spots on the globe — including the underwater ruins of Bimini, which seems to point the way to the Lost City of Atlantis. You can choose to take an armchair pilgrimage (the book is a fascinating read) or follow his tips on how to travel to these powerful sites yourself.” (Mode 7/2000) “Should you be inspired to make a pilgrimage of your own, you might want to pick up a copy of Brad Olsen’s guide to the world’s sacred places. Olsen’s marvelous drawings and mysterious maps enhance a package that is as bizarre as it is wonderfully acces- sible.
    [Show full text]
  • NEOLITHIC IRELAND and BRITAIN (Part 1)
    NEOLITHIC IRELAND AND BRITAIN (Part 1) By Mike McPhee [Text of an address to the Sydney Unitarian Church on 21 February 2021.] When I chose this title, all that ‘Neolithic’ meant to me was the New Stone Age – and all I knew about that was that it was a period when the most advanced stone tools were developed and when the megalithic structures you’ll be seeing today were constructed. However, it turns out that there is much more to the Stone Ages – just looking at Europe, they were: 1. the Paleolithic Era (Old Stone Age) from 1.6 million years ago to 15,000 years ago 2. the Mesolithic Era from 15,000 to 5000 years ago; and 3. the Neolithic Era from 7000 to 1700 BCE (The dates are necessarily approximate and there is some overlap because the progression moved more rapidly in Southern Europe than in Northern Europe.} It will be clear from the dates that the Paleolithic Era began before modern humans evolved. This should not surprise us, as it is known that our precursors, such as Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis used tools made from stone, wood and bone. However, the earliest stone tools were fairly simple, consisting of core tools and the flakes that were broken off them. Similarly, the first wooden tools, such as spears, were merely shaped with stone hand-axes or knives: It should be added that the end of the Paleolithic Era corresponds to the final phases of the Pleistocene Ice Age, which lasted from 2.6 Mya to 11,700 BP.
    [Show full text]
  • The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles
    www.RodnoVery.ru www.RodnoVery.ru The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles www.RodnoVery.ru Callanish Stone Circle Reproduced by kind permission of Fay Godwin www.RodnoVery.ru The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles Their Nature and Legacy RONALD HUTTON BLACKWELL Oxford UK & Cambridge USA www.RodnoVery.ru Copyright © R. B. Hutton, 1991, 1993 First published 1991 First published in paperback 1993 Reprinted 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 Blackwell Publishers Ltd 108 Cowley Road Oxford 0X4 1JF, UK Blackwell Publishers Inc. 350 Main Street Maiden, Massachusetts 02148, USA All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Hutton, Ronald The pagan religions of the ancient British Isles: their nature and legacy / Ronald Hutton p. cm. ISBN 0-631-18946-7 (pbk) 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Stone Portals by Sergey Smelyakov [email protected]
    The Stone Portals by Sergey Smelyakov [email protected] This issue starts hosting of English edition of the e-book The Stone Portals (http://www.astrotheos.com/EPage_Portal_HOME.htm). The first Chapter presents the classification and general description of the stone artefacts which are considered the stone portals: stone – for their substance, and portals – for their occult destination. Their main classes are the pyramids, cromlechs, and stone mounds, as well as lesser forms – stone labyrinths et al. Then, chapter by chapter, we analyze the classes of these artefacts from the viewpoint of their occult and analytical properties, which, as it turned out, in different regions of the world manifest the similar properties in astronomical alignments, metrological and geometrical features, calendaric application, and occult destination. The second Chapter deals with the first, most extensive class of the Stone Portals – the Labyrinth- Temples presented by edifices of various types: Pyramids, mounds, etc. This study is preceded by an overview of astronomic and calendaric concepts that are used in the subsequent analysis. The religious and occult properties are analyzed relative to the main classes of the Labyrinth-Temples disposed in Mesoamerica and Eurasia, but from analytical point of view the main attention is devoted to Mesoamerican pyramids and European Passage Mounds. Thus a series of important properties are revealed re to their geometry, geodesy, astronomy, and metrology which show that their builders possessed extensive knowledge in all these areas. At this, it is shown that although these artefacts differ in their appearance, they have much in common in their design detail, religious and occult destination, and analytic properties, and on the world-wide scale.
    [Show full text]
  • THE CLAVA CAIRNS1 by IAI
    THE CLAVA CAIRNS1 by IAI . NWALKERC , M.A., F.S.A.SCOT. THIS pape divides ri d into three parts discussio:a generae th f no l affinities, sucs ha they are, of the Clava cairns; a discussion of their geographical setting; and some remark thein so r possible dating.2 n discussinI g possible affinitie cairnse immediatels i th e f o son , y e structh y kb uniqueness of the group as a whole compared with other groups of megalithic tombs. There are five outstanding features: firstly, the dual element of ring-cairn and passage-grave in a group which seems otherwise completely indivisible; secondly, the us f corbellineo r roofingfo e passage-graveth g s (and paralle thiso t le equall th , y distinctive open chambered non-passaged construction of the ring-cairn); thirdly, surroundine th g circl free-standinf eo g stones; fourthly orientatioe th , f passageno - grav ring-caird ean n alike toward . quarter Se W sth fifthlyd an presenc;e th ,p cu f eo marks both on stones forming part of the cairn and on boulders in the general area of Clava cairn distribution. The nearest parallels to the ring-cairns are in the superficially analagous struc- ture Almerin si southern ai n Spain,3 though Blance4 believes that som thesf eo e latter were used as ossuaries rather than places for collective burial. Passage-graves in general can be shown to have an Atlantic-Irish Sea distribution, from Iberia north- wards,5 though the Irish Sea area is certainly equally an area of gallery-grave distribution.
    [Show full text]
  • THE BALL YNOE STONE CIRCLE Excavations by A. E. Van Giffen, 1
    THE BALLYNOE STONE CIRCLE Excavations by A. E. van Giffen, 1937-1938 W. Groenman-van Waateringe & ]. ]. Butler':­ with comments by G. Eogan & M. ]. O'Kelly CONTENTS r. INTRODUCTION 2. BACKGROUND TO THE EXCA VA TION 3. THE BALLYNOE STONE CIRCLE IN LITERATURE 4 THE EXCA V A TIONS 4.r. The excavation in 1937 - a report by A. E. van Giffcn 4.2. Description of the monument 4.2. r. General remarks 4.2.2. The stone chambers 4.2.3. The baetyls 4.2.4. The sections 4.2.5. The peristalith (stones 1-29), the main circle and the outliers 4.3. Crcmation pockets 5. THE FINDS 5.r. Locarion and registration of the finds 5.2. Arrifacts 5.3. Bones 6. INTERPRETATION 7. DISCUSSTON 7. r. Comments by Dr. G. Eogan 7.2. Answcr to Dr. Eogan 7.3. Comments by Professor M. ]. O'Kelly 7+ Answer to Professor O'Kclly 7.5. Suggestions for thc completion of Van Giffen's excavations 8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 9. NOTES 10. LITERATURE ,,. Respectively Albert Egges van Giffen lnstituut voor Prac- en Protohistorie (!.P.P.), Univcrsity of Amsterdam and Biologisch-Archaeologisch Instituut (B.A.I.), Statc Univcrsity, Groningen and I.P.P" University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 73 W. GROENMAN-VAN WAATERINGE & J. J. BUTLER l. INTRODUCTION of excavating the Ballynoe Stone Circle had al­ ready been discussed at that meeting. In the years 1937 and 1938 the late Professor In l 9 37 the plans were realized. Throughout his A. E. van Giffen conducted the excavation of the two campaigns, Van Giffen was constantly assisted megalithic monument known as the Ballynoe Stone by Miss Gaffikin, whom he had asked to aet 'as Circle, Ballynoe Townland, Co.
    [Show full text]
  • Survey Megalithic Tombs of Ireland
    SURVEY OF THE MEGALITHIC TOMBS OF IRELAND Ruaidhri de Valera and Sean O Nuallain VOLUME II COUNTY MAYO DUBLIN PUBLISHED BY THE STATIONERY OFFICE 1964 To be purchased from the GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS SALE OFFICE, G.P.O. ARCADE, DUBLIN 1 or through any Bookseller SURVEY OF THE MEGALITHIC TOMBS OF IRELAND Ruaidhri de Valera and Sean O Nuallain VOLUME II COUNTY MAYO DUBLIN PUBLISHED BY THE STATIONERY OFFICE 1964 To be purchased from the GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS SALE OFFICE, G.P.O. ARCADE, DUBLIN 1 or through any Bookseller W PRINTED BY DUNDALGAITPRESS ( - TEMPEST) LTD., DUNDALK CONTENTS ALPHABETICAL INDEX TO DESCRIPTIONS, PLANS AND PHOTOGRAPHS OF TOMBS ........... v NUMERICAL LIST OF TOMBS ......... viii ALPHABETICAL INDEX TO SITES IN APPENDIX ...... vii INTRODUCTION ........... ix Previous Accounts of Co. Mayo Tombs ...... ix Scope and Plan of Present Volume ....... xiii Conventions Used in Plans ........ xv PART I. DESCRIPTIONS Descriptions of the Megalithic Tombs of Co. Mayo .... i Appendix: (a) Destroyed sites probably to be accepted as genuine Megalithic Tombs ......... 93 (b) Sites marked " Cromlech," etc., on O.S. Maps which are not accepted as Megalithic Tombs ..... 94 PART 2. DISCUSSION 1. MORPHOLOGY .......... 103 Court Cairns: Cairn and Revetment ....... 103 Courts .......... 104 Main Gallery ......... 106 Transepted Galleries and related forms .... 109 Orientation ......... no Portal Dolmens ......... no Wedge-shaped Gallery Graves: Main Chamber ........ in Portico .......... 112 Outer-walling . 112 Cairn .......... 112 Orientation ......... 113 2. DISTRIBUTION 113 Topography of Co. Mayo ....... 113 Court Cairns ......... 115 Portal Dolmens ......... 116 Wedge-shaped Gallery Graves . - . • 117 iii IV CONTENTS 3. THE PLACE OF THE MAYO TOMBS IN THE IRISH SERIES Court Cairns .....
    [Show full text]
  • CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Rhe STONE
    CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE rHE STONE CIRCLES OF IRELAND \) A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the · requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology by Ellen Gail Boatwright June, 1979 The Thesis of Ellen Gail Boabvright is approved: Mrchael~west Antonio Gilman California State University, Northridge ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreci­ ation to Antonio Gilman for his guidance and assistance throughout the writing of this thesis and to Louis Tartaglia and Michael West for their helpful sugg-estions. My thanks to Robert Kuboshima, who expertly drew and professionally assembled the maps of the Boggeragh and Sperrin mountains, Figures 59 and 60, from my rough drafts. Special thanks to my husband, Bob, and children, Pam and Craig, whose patience and understanding made possible the completion of this· project. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . iii LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES viii ABSTRACT xi INTRODUCTION . 1 Chapter I. SPECULATIVE PERIOD AND SUCCEEDING THEORETICAL PARADIGMS . • • • 6 Speculative Period . • • . • • . 6 Early Prehistoric Studies in Britain 6 Early Prehistoric Studies in Ireland 9 Diffusionist Paradigm ( 189 5-19 25) . • 12 Modified Diffusionist Paradigm (1925-1965). • . • • • • . 14 Independent Invention/Functionalist Paradigm ( 19 65-Present) . • . 19 II. CULTURAL CONTEXT OF THE IRISH STONE CIRCLES .•...•.• 26 The Ecology . • • 27 The Mesolithic . • . • • • • • • 30 The Neolithic . • • . • • • 32 Habitation Sites . • • • • 32 Megalithic Tombs . 38 The Early Bronze Age . • • . • • 46 The Beaker Folk . • • • • • • . 46 Metallurgy . • . • • 47 Round Cairns . • • . • • • 51 Standing Stones • • . • • 53 Stone Circles . • • • • • . • • 54 Conclusion . • • • • 55 iv Chapter III. DESCRIPTION OF SITES BY GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION . • • • • • • • • • • • 57 Southwest Ireland 58 Western Ireland .
    [Show full text]
  • 161 L. Mcgill 1964, 63 (Court Cairn on Oíleán Mhacaire); P.J. Mcgill 1970
    COUNTY DONEGAL 161 L. McGill 1964, 63 (court cairn on Oíleán Mhacaire); P.J. McGill 1970, 6; Ó Nualláin 1983a, 35, no. 71; Ó Nualláin 1983b, 94, Donegal no. 17; SMR 1987, 73:36; Ó Nualláin 1989, 124; RMP 1995, 73:36. 113. Shalwy. OS 97:5:1 (6.0 38.8). ‘Muinner (Carn)’ (1907). OD 100–200. G 648 753. Plates 164–6. Figs. 78 and 79 Court tomb This monument, one of the three excavated court tombs in the same rocky coastal valley, stands on a low knoll of rock between the other two (Dg. 12 and Dg. 40). A plan of the monument, made in 1952, has already been published (de Valera 1960). It then survived as substantial long cairn with a gallery, surmised to be of two chambers, opening from a court at its NE end. Only two orthostats of the northern arm of the court were then visible. A doubled lintel marked the entrance to the gallery. Tiers of corbelling were visible along both sides of the gallery, and a large roofstone covered its inner half. The gallery was filled with stones almost to the tops of the sidestones. Fagan’s (1845–8) account of the monument, written after his visit in 1847, shows it to have been in much the same condition then as in 1952. The monument was excavated over four seasons from 1966 to 1969, and preliminary accounts have been published (Flanagan 1967; 1968; 1969; 1970). Excavation revealed a coffin-shaped cairn with a crescent-shaped facade and straight rear end. The sides and back of the cairn proved to be of dry-wall construction.
    [Show full text]
  • Print This Article
    RADIOCARBON Editors: RICHARD FOSTER FLINT-J GORDON ODGEN, III-IRVING ROUSE-MINZE STUIVER Managing Editor: RENEE S KRA Published by THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE Editors: JOHN RODGERS, JOHN H OSTROM, AND PHILLIP M ORVILLE Published three times a year, in Winter, Spring, and Summer, at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. Subscription rate $45.00 (for institutions), $30.00 (for individuals), available only in whole volumes. All correspondence and manuscripts should be addressed to the Managing Editor, RADIOCARBON, Box 2161, Yale Station, New Haven, Connecticut 06520. INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTRIBUTORS Manuscripts of radiocarbon papers should follow the recommendations in Sugges- tions to Authors, 5th ed.* All copy (including the bibliography) must be typewritten in double space. Manuscripts for vol 17, no. 1 must be submitted in duplicate before June 1, 1974; for vol 17, no. 2 before October 1, 1974. Descriptions of samples, in date lists, should follow as closely as possible the style shown in this volume. Each separate entry (date or series) in a date list should be considered an abstract, prepared in such a way that descriptive material is distinguished from geologic or archaeologic interpretation, but description and interpretation must be both brief and informative, emphasis placed on significant comments. Date lists should therefore not be preceded by abstracts, but abstracts of the more usual form should accompany all papers (eg, geochemical contributions) that are directed to specific problems. Each description should include the following data, if possible in the order given: 1. Laboratory number, descriptive name (ordinarily that of the locality of collec- tion), and the date expressed in years BP (before present, ie, before AD 1950) and, for finite dates, in years AD/BC.
    [Show full text]