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This pdf of your paper in Enclosing Space, Opening New Ground belongs to the publishers Oxbow Books and it is their copyright. As author you are licenced to make up to 50 offprints from it, but beyond that you may not publish it on the World Wide Web until three years from publication (February, 2021), unless the site is a limited access intranet (password protected). If you have queries about this please contact the editorial department at Oxbow Books ([email protected]). AN OFFPRINT FROM ENCLOSING SPACE, OPENING NEW GROUND IRON AGE STUDIES FROM SCOTLAND TO MAINLAND EUROPE Edited by TANJA ROMANKIEWICZ, MANUEL FERNÁNDEZ-GÖTZ, GARY LOCK AND OLIVIER BÜCHSENSCHÜTZ Hardback Edition: ISBN 978-1-78925-201-9 Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78925-202-6 (epub) Oxford & Philadelphia Block 3 Marking landscapes through time 11 Atlantic-zone hillforts with up-right stone rows and their relationship with coastal routes1 Luis Berrocal-Rangel, Pablo Paniego & Lucía Ruano 1. Introduction of long-distance communication in Irish Prehistory may Maritime contacts between Atlantic territories have existed have been exaggerated in the past, but there is no denying since the 3rd millennium BC. There have been several the probability of contacts along the shorter stretches of the archaeological finds dating from the Early Bronze Age Atlantic coasts in prehistoric times.’ onwards across these coasts that support this idea, such It is unnecessary to talk about DNA and genetic halogroups as the boats of Ferriby (Yorkshire), Brigg (Lincolshire), such as R1b, or Y chromosome genetic distances (Haak Dover (Kent), Broighter (Northern Ireland) or Oia (Galicia). et al., 2015; McEvoy & Bradley, 2010: 132–133), because These discoveries suggest the possible marine routes that there are enough archaeological remains and existing tracks would connect the Atlantic Arc from Scotland to the Iberian to suggest the routes of these Prehistoric ways, not only Peninsula, favouring similar developments within very coastal but also maritime, stretching from southern Portugal distant regions. Among other aspects, these similarities to Ireland and Scotland. These relationships were especially can be seen in certain types of defensive architecture, like strong during the 2nd millennium, the so-called ‘Atlantic hillforts with up-right stone rows, a feature commonly Bronze System’. According to Cunliffe (2008: 269), at known as ‘chevaux-de-frise’. These types of defence can be that time, Atlantic Europe was a ‘vibrant place – a place found in settlements from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, of energy and assurance, interconnected as never before. Spain, Portugal and Italy. We propose a common background Commodities were moving across the continent and around for the examples from the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron the coasts at a rate previously unknown and with them Age, in spite of the different settlement locations, some being flowed ideas, so creating a remarkable degree of similarity on sea-cliffs and others in river gorges, although both share across huge territories’. the same topographical layout. This suggests the sharing of North-Atlantic trade winds and the Gulf Stream, in ideas and techniques among people from distant territories fact, do provide favourable conditions for sailing along that led to similar processes indicating a shared past. the European Atlantic with trajectories north-south being favoured over the opposite routes especially in southern Portugal between the Gibraltar Strait and Cape Roca (Oliver, 2. Traditional and prehistoric sailing along the 2005: 732–734). This wind and current regime neutralises Atlantic coast the natural drift for ships sailing north-south, which would During the Middle Ages, relationships between the remote force them onto the coastal cliffs that are very common along territories of the Atlantic coast were fixed by the development the Atlantic shores (Garret, 1996: 97). Before there were of the traditional ways of exchange and, in addition, the ships with complex rigging, therefore, sailing along these pilgrims’ routes to Santiago de Compostela. Before that, coasts was short and occasional, putting more importance however, there were many earlier routes, which we can on inland exchange routes. The only way to mitigate these suggest stretch back to at least the end of the Neolithic disadvantages was through human strength and, indeed, the period in the 3rd millennium BC. As Waddell (2010: 271) oldest ships show the importance of paddles and oars, rather claims: ‘The importance of the Atlantic seaways as a means than sails, with appropriate designs and sizes. 132 Luis Berrocal-Rangel, Pablo Paniego & Lucía Ruano Nevertheless, our knowledge of Atlantic Bronze Age going vessel, with stem and stern, perhaps with a lost keel, ships is scanty with not more than twenty wrecks known a row of nine pairs of oars, cross-spars and deck beams and between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic seas. About ten probable benches for the oarsmen (Kelly, 2015: 128). Thus, of them are located along the British coast, sites like the it is a boat similar to the contemporary Mediterranean ones, Humber estuary, Dover, Southampton Water, and the Severn sometimes called ‘Tartessian’ or even ‘Phoenician’, with a estuary, all dated to the 2nd millennium BC (McGrail, parallel being that from Caergwrle, Clwyd, Wales, which is 1993). There are also quite famous ship models, such as the a model carved in shale, gold and tin (Redknap, 2011: 58). Broighter boat from Ulster (Raftery, 1983: 268–270), and However, both models have clear similarities to the traditional astonishing engraved representations, such as those from Irish curraghs bringing to mind the Iberian engravings, from Oia, Galicia (Costas & De la Peña, 2011: 91–93). the Cadiz to Galicia coasts, but especially the example at The first well-dated ships in the British Isles are small Oia Bay in southern Galicia (Mielke & Schuhmacher, 2011). and simple structures, closer to canoes or leader boats, and With so few examples, trying to establish the main they were used for travelling along rivers, over marshes crossing routes through the English Channel, as McGrail did and across bays (Cleary, 2016: 140–145; Fry, 2000; Mowat, (1993), can be little more than speculation, although known 1998; Lanting, 1997–1998). Logboats are well known from traditional routes are suggestive (Bowen, 1972; Castleden, Friarton, Perthshire, Scotland (Strachan et al., 2012) to 1993; see Fig. 11.1). From these it is possible to get an idea Lough Neagh, County Tyrone, Ireland, and they became about the more useful maritime routes and anchorage points more abundant at the end of the 2nd millennium, the Late based on traditional sailing, that is coastal navigation with Bronze Age. These include the funeral boats and models of small interconnected routes taking advantage of small sites Barns Farm, Fife, Lough Eskragh, also in County Tyrone for anchoring to produce longer routes between the Irish (Waddell, 2010: 18–19, 278; Watkins, 1980) and the Fengate Sea and the English Channel. This is similar to the medieval examples (Dunkely, 2014: 194). Unfortunately, it is possible coastal way around Scotland, which links with Wales and that many of these examples are more modern (McGrail, southern England via the Irish Sea, ending at the mouth of 1983: 38, 2014; Gibson, 2013: 72–73, Fig. 3.1). Thames. In addition, the small coastal route between the The Ferriby I boat from Yorkshire and the one from estuaries of the Humber and Tyne rivers matches closely the Brigg, Lincolnshire, found either side of the mouth of the finds at Ferriby and Roos Carr. The crossing of the English Humber River, are well dated to around 1350 BC. They Channel would be made using the anchorages, i.e. harbours, provide evidence for equipment such as capstans, and show of the Isle of Wight, Christchurch and Portsmouth, crossing us the level of craftsmanship used in making wooden boats. to Saint-Malo, Batz reaching Nantes and Bordeaux by Saint These are the same techniques used for Neolithic leader Mateo Cape and Ushant Island. This route would end in boats, a hull made with sewn planks that avoids the use of Setubal, south of Lisbon, after crossing the Bay of Biscay. bronze nails, which are expensive, heavy and not appropriate On the western side, the network of deep-sea routes was for hulls. This building technique requires improvements, limited by more exposed conditions, which linked western such as the use of support ribs for bigger ships as used Irish harbours, such as Galway and Dingle, to Brittany, taking from the Iron Age (Wright, 1990). Even though these boats seven days in the autumn with optimal conditions and without were not very big, they were large enough to make medium the need for stopovers (Callaghan & Scarre, 2009: 363). distance crossings, such as the English Channel judging by the boat found at Dover (Clark, 2004). This evidence, therefore, suggests that during the Atlantic 3. A network of things, peoples and ideas: from Bronze and Iron Ages there were ships of a good size and the Late Neolithic to the Atlantic Bronze Age capacity, with strong hulls built with ribs and beams, of From Neolithic times, farming communities from Portugal to slim design whose aerodynamics were designed to utilise Sweden have required similar resources that guarantee their human strength. A good example is the 14 m long boat from survival and growth, producing widespread distributions Hjortspring, Als Isle, Denmark, dated to between the 5th of characteristics, such as the practice of collective burials and 3rd centuries BC, a true precedent of the later Viking in megalithic tombs. This is often explained as a part of a ships. This kind of ship could cope with strong winds and common ideology, for example assigning this astonishing the unknown water depths of sea and rivers, with a great architectural tradition to cosmic and other sacred beliefs.