Provided by the author(s) and University College Dublin Library in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite the published version when available. Title The Blackstairs mountains, south east Ireland: Investigating the archaeological potential of an understudied upland landscape Authors(s) Ó Murchú, Séamus Publication date 2016 Publisher University College Dublin. School of Archaeology Link to online version http://dissertations.umi.com/ucd:10116 Item record/more information http://hdl.handle.net/10197/8591 Downloaded 2021-09-29T22:44:59Z The UCD community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters! (@ucd_oa) © Some rights reserved. For more information, please see the item record link above. The Blackstairs Mountains, South East Ireland; Investigating the Archaeological Potential of an Understudied Upland Landscape Vol. 1 of 3 Séamus Ó Murchú This thesis is submitted to University College Dublin in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Social Sciences and Law January 2016 School of Archaeology Head of School: Prof. Gabriel Cooney Supervisor: Dr. Rob Sands Doctoral Supervisory Panel: Prof. Muiris Ó Súilleabháin and Dr. Graeme Warren Contents Acronyms .................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ........................................................................................................................ ix Statement of Original Authorship .............................................................................. x Acknowledgements...................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1 – “The Mountain Rising Blue in the Distance” ....................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Why Uplands? ................................................................................................................ 4 Blackstairs Uplands in an Irish Research Context ......................................................... 7 Blackstairs Uplands in a European Research Context ................................................. 11 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 16 Thesis Structure ............................................................................................................ 20 Chapter 2 – “Going to the Mountain”: Defining the Uplands ............................... 22 Historic and Common Use of “Upland” ...................................................................... 24 Etymology .................................................................................................................... 25 Early Scientific Definitions .......................................................................................... 26 National Definitions ..................................................................................................... 27 Ireland .......................................................................................................................... 28 Britain ........................................................................................................................... 30 EU Legislation ............................................................................................................. 34 Altitudinal Zonation ..................................................................................................... 36 Archaeological Approaches ......................................................................................... 37 Defining the Blackstairs Uplands................................................................................. 38 Chapter 3 – Characterising the Blackstairs Mountains ......................................... 41 Location........................................................................................................................ 41 Mountains and Placenames .......................................................................................... 42 Geology ........................................................................................................................ 42 i Glaciation ..................................................................................................................... 43 Soils and Peat ............................................................................................................... 44 Vegetation and Habitat ................................................................................................. 48 Archaeology ................................................................................................................. 55 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 4 Revealing the Hidden Past; Methodological Approaches to Upland Landscapes .................................................................................................................. 59 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 59 Background to the Blackstairs Sources ........................................................................ 61 Open-Source Imagery .................................................................................................. 61 Kite Aerial Photography .............................................................................................. 62 Fieldwalking ................................................................................................................. 64 Other Sources ............................................................................................................... 64 Results of Blackstairs Survey....................................................................................... 65 Kite Aerial Photography .............................................................................................. 68 Exploring Other Techniques: A Case Study ................................................................ 70 Characterising the Dublin Mountains .......................................................................... 71 Sources of Investigation in the Dublin Mountains ....................................................... 73 Overview of Airborne Laser Scanning in Archaeological Research ........................... 75 Overview of Multispectral Satellite Imagery in Archaeological Research .................. 79 The Dublin Mountains Survey ..................................................................................... 81 Test Site 1: Pre-Bog Features ....................................................................................... 81 Test Site 2: Upstanding Summit Cairns ....................................................................... 83 Test Site 3: Levelled Summit Cairns ........................................................................... 85 Test Site 4: Post-Medieval Houses .............................................................................. 87 Test Site 5: Levelled Post-Medieval Houses ............................................................... 89 Test Site 6: Post-Medieval Field Systems .................................................................... 91 ii Test Site 7: Forested areas............................................................................................ 92 Test Site 8: Relict Cultivation Ridges .......................................................................... 94 Test Site 9: Turf Cutters Huts ...................................................................................... 95 Test Site 10: Turf Cutting Remains ............................................................................. 96 Results from the Dublin Mountains Survey: Discussion ............................................. 98 Summary .................................................................................................................... 104 Chapter 5 – The Archaeology of the Blackstairs Mountains ............................... 107 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 107 Summary of Archaeological Site Discoveries ........................................................... 107 Proposed Blackstairs Chronology .............................................................................. 112 Prehistory: Mesolithic Period ..................................................................................... 113 Prehistory: Neolithic – Iron Age ................................................................................ 114 Funerary Monuments ................................................................................................. 115 Settlement ................................................................................................................... 117 Agriculture & Enclosure ............................................................................................ 118 Other Prehistoric Features .......................................................................................... 119 Movement .................................................................................................................. 125