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INTRODUCTION
The
Irish iron age has been the focus of several puzzles which have
endured over the decades, some due to a simple lack of relevant
data, some to what are now largely seen as inappropriate approaches
used by those studying aspects of the period. Among these one of
the longest-standing has been the view that early historic Irish
annals and literary works provide a 'window on the iron age', preserving
detail of both the chronology of elite Ireland's political manoeuverings
and of the specifics of social structure and even of the construction
of individual artifact types. While the general consensus is that
the 'window' idea is inappropriate, there remains to some degree
at least an broad acceptance that some extrapolations at least can
be made from what is known of early historic Irish life into the
later iron age period.
The
apparent lack of the expected signs of everyday life during the
iron age (and indeed in the later part of the bronze age) has endured
as a real mystery which is only relatively recently being dismantled.
The reasons for this seeming disappearance of most of Ireland's
population has been ascribed to such factors as climatic change,
emigration, epidemic, and a radical change in the mode of living.
Though the jury are still out on which one (or several) of these
factors was responsible, inroads into at least one of the key worry-points
are being made. The apparent almost total lack of dwellings of iron
age date was for long a cause of puzzlement, though there have been
some such sites identified in the past. One notable change has been
the results of the very large excavations undetaken over several
years in north County Tipperary at Lisheen. The curiosity of the
total absence of pottery during Ireland's iron age remains to be
explained, however.
The
iron age in Ireland continues to exercise the minds of professional
and layperson alike, lying as it does tantalisingly at the cusp
of the historical period. This fascination is parallelled by the
enthusiasm with which topics raised on the 'Iron Age Ireland'
discussion group are tackled, as noted below.
THE
'IRON AGE IRELAND' DISCUSSION GROUP
The
'Iron Age Ireland' discussion group was founded in July 2000.
As one of the first IRQUAS groups to be created, the project's
success was, in the initial stages, dependent to a large degree
on the group's success. Almost from day one memberships climbed
and discussions on varied and often difficult topics fired up immediately.
The Iron Age Ireland group continues to be one of the flagships
of IRQUAS. For almost a year the group has been engaged in
a reading and discussion of Barry Raftery's well-known book on the
period, 'Pagan Celtic Ireland, The Enigma of the Irish Iron Age'.
The popularity of this discussion has been an enduring feature of
the group (debate on the contents of page 113 alone ran for two
months, for example). Current membership stands at over 160.
To
join the discussion group, simply click the link below to create
an auto-addressed email, and press 'Send'. You will shortly receive
via email a confirmation request to which you must reply. Within
minutes your membership will be logged and you can begin interacting
with other group members online. New members are encouraged to send
an initial message to the group introducing themselves, and mentioning
their areas of interest in Ireland's iron age period
Members
and non-members alike can freely access the group's archives. These
help give a feel for the type of topics discussed for those considering
subscribing, and help new members catch up on past debates. To view
or search the archives, just click on the link below.
RELATED
DISCUSSION GROUP HOMEPAGES
LINKS
DOCUMENTS
& DATABASES
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last updated 18 September 2001
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