The earliest evidence for the chosen area dates from the Neolithic, in addition, the erecting of monuments in Ireland
started with the first farmers during this period, therefore the assessment for
this project starts with the New Stone Age. The monuments of this era comprise
the famous structures of large stones, called megalithic tombs. In Ireland
these comprise court tombs, portal tombs, wedge tombs, passage tombs as well as
Linkardstown cists (Halpin & Newman, 2006) . The study area
however, shows a large concentration of unclassified tombs, accompanied by
court tombs, portal tombs and wedge tombs, all occurring along fertile valleys
and relatively near the coastline (Gibbons &
Higgins, 1988).
The latter type was erected from the late Neolithic into the Bronze Age in
Ireland (O'Sullivan
& Downey, 2010). It has been decided to include these
in the Neolithic period as they originated in this period.
Other Bronze Age monuments in Ireland occur as free standing orthostats, variations of these are stone circles, standing stones, stone pairs, in addition to stone rows (Waddell, 2010). The latter three forms occur in the grid of this project and are situated in the same locations as the Neolithic monuments, hinting at a continuation in settlement (Gibbons & Higgins, 1988).
The Iron Age of Ireland is poorly understood due to a general lack of evidence, however this situation is improving, since recent excavations revealed evidence for numerous settlement sites in south-eastern and south-western parts of the country (Corlett & Potterton, 2012). It is known that hillforts were occupied at this time, however recent excavations show, that some of these were already erected during the late Bronze Age (O'Sullivan & Downey, 2013). The same applies to certain promontory forts (O'Sullivan & Downey, 2004a).
Other Bronze Age monuments in Ireland occur as free standing orthostats, variations of these are stone circles, standing stones, stone pairs, in addition to stone rows (Waddell, 2010). The latter three forms occur in the grid of this project and are situated in the same locations as the Neolithic monuments, hinting at a continuation in settlement (Gibbons & Higgins, 1988).
The Iron Age of Ireland is poorly understood due to a general lack of evidence, however this situation is improving, since recent excavations revealed evidence for numerous settlement sites in south-eastern and south-western parts of the country (Corlett & Potterton, 2012). It is known that hillforts were occupied at this time, however recent excavations show, that some of these were already erected during the late Bronze Age (O'Sullivan & Downey, 2013). The same applies to certain promontory forts (O'Sullivan & Downey, 2004a).