The Use Of Metal
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Around 2000bc, new people came to Ireland and brought with them a very important invention: the first use of metal. At first cooper was used,but when tin was added to it, a harder metal called BRONZE was made. Slowly, the stone age gave away to the Bronze age as bronze tools and weapons replaced stone. Bronze was better than tone for several reasons like
Copper was mined in Ireland in a number of places, fro example at Mount Gabriel near Schull, Co. Cork and near Killarney, Co. Kerry. Most of the tin was imported from Cornwell in England.
- Bronze was harder wearing
- Bronze could be shaped more easy
- Bronze had a shaper edge
Copper was mined in Ireland in a number of places, fro example at Mount Gabriel near Schull, Co. Cork and near Killarney, Co. Kerry. Most of the tin was imported from Cornwell in England.
Houses
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Bronze age people often settled near lake or rivers. They cleared trees, built houses and sheds and laid out fields.
Their houses were usually circular, about 6 metres in diameter. They first built a frame of timber poles. The walls were then made of wattle and daub and the roof was thatched. Smaller buildings were used for storage or as animal shelter. Around the building they built a timber fence with a ditch or an earthen bank. Families needed thee for protection from attacks from wild animals or from other families.
Their houses were usually circular, about 6 metres in diameter. They first built a frame of timber poles. The walls were then made of wattle and daub and the roof was thatched. Smaller buildings were used for storage or as animal shelter. Around the building they built a timber fence with a ditch or an earthen bank. Families needed thee for protection from attacks from wild animals or from other families.
Food and Family life
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Bronze age people depended on the same type of food as neolithic people. Wheat and barley were used to make bread and porridge and the grain was ground with saddle stone. Meat was obtained from cattle, sheep, pigs and fish from the rivers and lakes. people hunted for wild berries
Food was stored in wooden baskets or pottery vessels. Cooking was done on a spit, Bronze cauldron, which were very large pots made of bronze sheets.
Food was stored in wooden baskets or pottery vessels. Cooking was done on a spit, Bronze cauldron, which were very large pots made of bronze sheets.
Fulachta Fiadh
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Fulachta fiadhs were ancient cooking place. They were usually found in wet,low lying places near rivers or streams. the people dug holes in the ground and then lined them with wooden planks or with flat stone. Water seeped into the hole and then filled it up. Large tones where heated on a fire and then placed in the water until it boiled. Meat was wrapped in straw and then placed into the boiling water. They kept adding hot stones until the meat boiled
Work
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Bronze age people were mostly farmers. They tilled land using wooden spades and wooden ploghs wih tone tips and they planted crops of wheat and barley . Bronze age people also reared cattle, sheep and pigs
Art And Crafts
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As we saw above mining was a very important job. We also had metal work jobs.gold was also mined in Co. Wicklow and Co. Tyrone. Gold was beaten thin sheets to make lunulae and sun discs. Later, gold was twisted into torcs, necklaces and bracelets.
Burial Customs
Cist graves
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bronze age people were usually in single graves called cist graves . These are rectangular pits dug into the ground and lined with stone slabs. The bodies were buried in a crouched position, lying on their sides. Grave goods such as beads jewellery food, pins and arrow heads were placed in pots beside the body . Some of the bodies were cremated and the ashes put in urns (pottery jars). The graves were then covered with a stone slab.
Wedge Tomb
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Some people were buried in wedge tombs. These tombs are the most common megalithic tombs. The tombs were built with large flat stones, some forming the side walls with a capstone on top. The tomb was wedge shaped: the entrance was wider then the back of the tomb a mound of smaller stones surrounded the tomb.
Bodies were cremated then their ashes where kept in pottery in the tomb.
Bodies were cremated then their ashes where kept in pottery in the tomb.
Standing Stones
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Burial places ave been found with stone circles , stone rows and standing stone. Tall stones placed in circles or in rows or stood on their own. Many of thee stones have been found in Co. Cork and Co. Kerry.
The entrance into the tone circle is usually in the north-east of the circle, and the smallest stone opposite the entrance. Archeoligts think this as something to do with the movement of the sun. These monuments may have been used as part of some religious ceremonies as well as for burials.
The entrance into the tone circle is usually in the north-east of the circle, and the smallest stone opposite the entrance. Archeoligts think this as something to do with the movement of the sun. These monuments may have been used as part of some religious ceremonies as well as for burials.