Introduction to settlement in Connemara
Settlement in Connemara started in prehistoric times with
the Mesolithic people. The Neolithic as well as the Bronze Age however, provide
the most obvious evidence with megalithic monuments for burial as well as
ritual, these are the most numerous sites of the region. The Iron Age is more
illusive in this region, with no recorded accounts of habitual or burial evidence. The early medieval evidence comprises holy
wells and settlement forms such as ringforts. Interestingly, the possibility of a Norse presence in the area is gaining strenght. It has been found in this project
that the shoreline played an important role for settlement as well as ritual throughout
the ages, except for the Iron Age, for which no sites are detectable so far.
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Cleggan Court Tomb from S-E
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Introduction
This website accompanies a thesis entitled An Archaeological Transect of the Parishes of Ballinakill and Clifden. It was executed as part of a BA Honours in Heritage Studies at GMIT Mayo Campus in the Republic of Ireland. Its main focus were the monuments of prehistory and the early medieval period of a given area and their connection to the sea.
In addition, the functions of the monuments were estimated. The thesis progressed chronologically through the different eras. These are presented here on seperated pages.