Cárbh as tú?

Cárbh as tú?

Short Ancient Chronology of Ireland

circa 8.000 bc- Arrival of first Mesolithics from Scotland. Hunters and Gatheres.
The earliest archaeological activity known from the wider area of Northern Ireland is associated with the Mesolithic industrial site at Larne. Here was uncovered the largest flint tool industrial site of this period. The importance of Larne as a site is reflected in that the term “Larnian” is sometimes used to describe the whole Mesolithic culture of Ireland. Both early Mesolithic sites (7000 – 5500 BC) and later Mesolithic sites (5500 – 4000BC) have been uncovered in county Antrim.

circa 4.300 bc- Transition to Neolithic technology and agricultural subsistence. First megalithics (tombs erected).
Around 4000 BC new communities of people settled in Ireland and so began the Neolithic (New Stone Age) period which saw the arrival of agriculture. These first farmers brought with them cattle and cereals such as wheat and barley. They also brought with them a new innovation – pottery, the earliest examples of which were well-made hand-thrown round-bottomed vessels. There was also a change in the type of tools used from that of the preceding Mesolithic period. The most notable of which were the range of flint scrapers and hunting tools such as leaf-and lozenge-shaped flint and chert arrowheads and polished stone axes for woodworking. Neolithic settlements leave little or no trace on the ground surface and are therefore difficult to spot outside excavation. In recent years, the requirement for archaeological supervision during topsoil stripping on green field sites has uncovered substantial Neolithic settlements. Visual indicators are the burial and ritual monuments such as standing stones, and are generally a good indication of prehistoric activity in an area. Archaeological activity in the area is demonstrated through the Neolithic period, from about 4000 to 2500BC, by the presence of megalithic tombs and other funerary sites.

circa 2500 bc- Earliest copper mining in South-West Ireland; beginnings of cooper-based metalworking.

circa 900-600 bc- "Dowris" phase climax of Late Bronze Age, marked by profuse production of gold ornaments, bronze tools and weapons. Construction of hillforts.

circa 400-100 bc- First use of Iron technology in Ireland and appearance of "celtic" material (indigenous ans imported) decorated in La Tène style. Climax of the so-called "royal" sites of Late Prehistory.

circa 100-400 ac- Ireland not part of Roman Empire but receiving influences form Roman Britain, social upheaval and migrations from Ireland into westerns Britain following withdrawal of Roman forces from Britain.

circa 400-600 ac- Christianitation of Ireland, emergence of monasticism; appearance of complex early medieval society and independt polities based in tribal gropupings called TÚATHA. Agricultural revolution (horizontal mill and coulter plough).

circa 650-800 ac- Cementing of bonds between religious and secular power; appearance of "monastic's towns"; golden age of Irish artistic achievement in metalwork (ex: Tara Broach), manuscripts illumination (ex: Book of Kells) and stone sculputure (ex: Ahenay Crosses).

The secular settlements or enclosed farmsteads are commonly known as raths or ringforts and usually occur in small clusters. The total number of raths found across Ireland is estimated to be around 30 – 40,000, though this is probably an underestimate. A typical rath would be delineated by a bank 35m – 40m in diameter with an outer ditch, though variations of this include a platform rath, a raised rath, bivallate and trivallate raths. Excavations have dated raths to 500 - 1100AD and have uncovered houses of wattle, plank, stone, mud or sod, sometimes with a series of outbuildings within their interior. Another feature of Early Christian secular activity is the souterrain, a stone lined tunnel of either a short linear passage or complex maze, which is often found in association with raths, but can occur in isolation. The function of these sites may have been for both storage and refuge and are generally associated with circular houses. There are several hundred ecclesiastical Early Christian sites in Northern Ireland. How they survive today varies widely, some churches remain in use, some sites are still being used for burial, some are preserved as monuments while others are only known from ecclesiastical records and memoirs with no above surface remains. While the earliest church organisation was diocesan, monastic organisation developed from the 6^th and 7^th centuries. These monastic buildings ranged greatly in size and complexity depending on the services offered to the local community - ministering, education, hospital, hospitality and shelter. The earliest buildings were often constructed from timber and can only be recovered during careful excavation. Stone churches, often built over earlier foundations, generally date from the 9^th century and can be associated with stone carved crosses, bullaun stones, round towers and water mills.

circa 795 ac- First recorded Viking raid on Rathlin Island (Co. Antrim).

circa 1000 ac- Brian Borumha recognized as efective high-king of Ireland.

1014 - Battle of Clontarf: Brian defeat revols by Dublin and Leinster but dies in battle.

1112 - Synod of Rath Bresail: first attemt to impose regular diocesan structure on Irish church, finalized at Synode of Kells in 1152.

1171- Henry II bring army to Ireland and claims overlordship; beginning of English conquest.
From the 12^th century the Irish landscape reflected the political and social changes of the time. The Anglo - Norman invasion saw the introduction of the motte and bailey, a conical flat - topped mound enclosed with a ditch and an attached enclosure to one side. Fortifying their position, stone castles, tower houses and keeps were constructed as important military and administrative centres.

1315-1318- Fitzgerald Rebellion marks beginning of Tudor campaings to reassert English control in Ireland. Imposition of Reformation legislation (from 1536) and first dissolutions of monasteries (c.1450) form part of this procces.

1594- Outbreak of Nine Years War, ilter lords, led by O'Neill and Ó Domhnaill, resist expansion
of English control with surprisings effediveness.
In the late 16^th and early 17^th centuries, Elizabeth I and James I tried to control the rebellious native Irish aristocracy by confiscating their lands and dividing it among new settlers - planters, brought specifically over from Scotland and England. The plantation period saw the introduction of strong houses and enclosures to house the new settlers in their unfamiliar and potentially hostile surroundings. Town defences were usually provided by earthen ramparts, stone walls and enclosing ditches.

Although there had been earlier plantations throughout Ireland which had succeeded in confiscating land and grafting on a new aristocracy, the Plantation of Ulster in 1609 was comprehensive. The six Counties of Armagh, Fermanagh, Coleraine, Cavan, Tyrone and Donegal were all systematically planted. Land was allocated to a series of ‘Undertakers’, landlords who undertook to bring in Scottish and English colonists, settle them in fortified villages, house them and arm them. Land was also granted to ‘Servitors’, soldiers who had served the Crown in the wars of the 1590s as a reward for their loyalty.