The First Irish

Visitors to Ireland will soon notice a sparseness of trees. So how do the Irish kindle their fires on those cold, rainy nights? Peat or as the Irish call it, turf. Bogs of turf cover the Emerald Isle, and on a bright, sunny day stacks of newly cut turf blocks can be seen drying in the sun. When burned, these blocks give off a pleasant but pungent, earthy scent, permeating everything.

Now imagine yourself out in a peat bog, happily cutting turf, when the tip of the cutter strikes a hard object. It could happen...and has. Far beneath many of Ireland's bogs are archeological jewels, remnants of prehistoric civilizations preserved over thousands of years.

One such site is the Céide Fields in County Mayo on the western coast. Covering over four square miles, this bog land blankets the remains of the largest enclosed farming settlement in western Europe. This discovery, in the beginning of the 1980's, shed new light on the early inhabitants of Ireland, predating the Celts.

It is believed the first settlers, a group of hunters and fishermen, arrived around 7,000 BC. Not much is known about them since they built no permanent structures. Around 5,000 BC, another group of immigrants arrived. These are the farmers archeologists are currently learning about at Céide Fields and other bog-covered areas throughout Ireland.

Archeologists believe these early settlers lived a communal life. The stone walls at Céide Fields separate even, rectangular areas that were likely used for grazing cattle. A few smaller squares probably housed crops like wheat or barley. An estimated quarter ton of stone was used to build the walls, indicating a community that worked together. Because of the bog now covering Céide Fields, it is difficult for archeologists to do thorough research, but the site is believed to be much larger than the four square miles mapped out. Tree stumps were discovered in excavations, indicating the land was originally covered by forest. The scale of this site indicates the task of clearing the trees required many hands supporting the communal life belief.

Houses were made of thick posts stuck in the ground, with beams hung across the top then covered by thatches. Twigs and sticks woven together and cemented with mud and straw formed the walls.

Mostly these farmers raised cattle, sheep, goats and pigs-not much different from Ireland today.

What happened? It can only be guessed, but two theories exist; human exploitation, or the wet climate, compounded on the coast where Céide Fields is located. Most likely it was a combination of both.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic