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| Stone Implements - Irish Stone Axe Project |
Recently, I came across a list of artefacts found on the
shore and in the vicinity of Lough Gara, on the border between County Sligo and
County Roscommon. It makes impressive reading and highlights the archaeological
importance of the lake which is renowned for its large number of crannogs. People
have lived on or around this lake off and on for several thousand years leaving
behind evidence of their presence in the form of stone axes, arrowheads,
swords, spearheads and such like remnants.
The archaeological evidence suggests that crannogs, or at
least platforms, may have been built in this lake in the Late Mesolithic around
4,000 BC. The practice of building on the shallow shores increased during the
Late Bronze Age, 1200–800 BC, and again in the Early Medieval period around 600
AD. Some crannogs were also used as late as the 17th century. Estimates of
the number of crannogs on Lough Gara range from 145 to 369. According to
Christina Fredengren (2002), the Swedish archaeologist who carried out an
extensive survey of the lake, the highest number of crannogs that can be
claimed for Lough Gara is 190.
Lough Gara is not a particularly accessible lake for the
casual visitor and the crannogs can be difficult to find. It is in the nature
of wetland archaeology that such sites do not have much of a visible presence.
In a sense, the lake’s past only comes alive when we consider the vast number
of ancient tools, weapons and other objects discovered here over the years.
The Early Mesolithic period in Ireland runs from 8000 to
5500 BC and the Later Mesolithic from 5500 to 4000 BC. Radiocarbon dating of
samples of wood show that there was human activity on Inch Island around 7330-7050
BC. The Lough Gara collection of Mesolithic
artefacts is regarded as the largest in the West of Ireland.
Artefacts recovered
from Lough Gara include:
Bann flakes 1053, Stone
axes 133, saddle querns 3, rotary quern stones 6, stone discs 49, chertflakes
599, chert scrapers 14, chert arrowheads 9, flint flakes 7, hammer stones 22,
bone pins 5, bone needles 2, human skulls 6, bone points 11, flint arrowheads
9, bronze rings 8, bronze pins 10, bronze sunflower pins 3, bronze spearheads
3, bronze daggers 4, iron spears 7, iron axe heads 19, bronze trumpet end 1,
bronze swords 3, bronze axe head flanged 4, iron swords 6, blue glass bracelet
1 and copper coins 15.
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| 5,000 year old axe with a wooden handle from Denmark |
Over 133 stone
axes alone have been discovered along the shores of Lough Gara with the largest
concentration found along the Boyle River. Another large concentration of ten
axes come from Inch Island in the middle of the lake. A small number have also
been retrieved from other townlands such as Falleens, Tawnymucklagh, Ross and
Derrymore Island.
Stone axes are normally ascribed to both the Mesolithic and
the Neolithic periods. Polished stone axes, however, seem to appear first in
the Neolithic while ground axes can belong to the Mesolithic. These tools were
used for cutting, shaping and dressing wood. Perhaps, one of those axes was
used to cut timbers for the nearby 3,000 year old togher or trackway in the
townland of Creggan?
It is likely that the lake waters, and especially the
running waters of the rivers, were seen as places where depositions or
offerings of suitable objects could be made. It has been suggested that the
lake could have been a gathering-place for small groups during the late
Mesolithic period.
Archaeologists’ use the term ‘lithic’ to refer to flaked stone
tools such as arrowheads, scrapers, ground and polished stone axes and such
like items. Killian Driscoll (2006) carried out a reappraisal of the lithics
from Lough Gara excluding finds from excavations. He claims that the number of
artefacts found in and around this lake has been underestimated. For example,
the actual number of lithics recorded for the townlands of Tawnymucklagh and
Lomcloon alone should be in the region of 928 - over twice the original
estimate.
The discovery of quern stones from Lough Gara shows that
these early inhabitants of the area around the lake were grinding corn to make
bread and porridge. The presence of a bronze trumpet end points to the playing
of music at gatherings and celebrations. Pins and broaches were used to fasten
or adorn garments.
The Drumanone portal tomb was excavated by archaeologists in
1954 and was found to contain a considerable amount of cremated bone,
indicating that the tomb was used to bury several individuals. A small polished
stone axe was also found which archaeologists believe came from the
Tievebulliagh Axe Factory in Co. Antrim. Other finds from this site include two
flint flakes and a chert core scraper.
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| An Amber Necklace from Lough Gara dated to c 800-700 BC |
Excavation of Rathtinaun crannog produced a hoard of various
items, including: a necklace of amber beads, rings of bronze, of pure tin
and three of lead with gold-foil cover, a pair of tweezers, bronze pin and six
boar tusks.
Many of the items found during the more recent excavation of
the Sroove crannog were connected with personal appearance - a comb fragment,
bone pins, iron pins and lignite bracelets. The discovery of a sewing needle
suggests that people may have worked with textiles at this site.
The large and diverse number of artefacts from Lough Gara
help to paint a picture of a people going about their everyday lives striving
to survive with meagre resources. They speak to us through the items they left
behind giving us a tantalising glimpse of life in the area long ago.
Christina Fredengren (2002) Crannogs: A study of people's interaction with lakes, with particular reference to Lough Gara in the north-west of Ireland
Killian Driscoll (2006) The early prehistory in the west of Ireland: Investigations into the Social archaeology of the Mesolithic, west of the Shannon, Ireland
Killian Driscoll (2006) The early prehistory in the west of Ireland: Investigations into the Social archaeology of the Mesolithic, west of the Shannon, Ireland
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