Gabriel Cooney
University College Dublin, UCD School of Archaeology, Department Member
This paper starts by outlining the history of stone axe studies in Ireland, from their antiquarian beginnings to 1990. It then offers a critical review of the current state of knowledge concerning the numbers, distribution, findspot... more
This paper starts by outlining the history of stone axe studies in Ireland, from their antiquarian beginnings to 1990. It then offers a critical review of the current state of knowledge concerning the numbers, distribution, findspot contexts, morphology, size, associated finds, dating and raw materials of stone axes. Having proposed an agenda for future research, the paper ends by introducing the Irish Stone Axe Project—the major programme of database creation and petrological identification, funded by the National Heritage Council, currently being undertaken by GC and EG.
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This site is located in the townland of Scrahallia, parish of Moyrus, barony of Bal lynahinch, Co. Galway, OS 6 in sheet 51, 14.6 cm from West, 32.0 cm from South, National Grid Reference L793 432, at a height of 200-300 ft (61-91 m) OD... more
This site is located in the townland of Scrahallia, parish of Moyrus, barony of Bal lynahinch, Co. Galway, OS 6 in sheet 51, 14.6 cm from West, 32.0 cm from South, National Grid Reference L793 432, at a height of 200-300 ft (61-91 m) OD It lies on the lower south-west facing ...
Book reviews. Pierre Pétrequin, Serge Cassen, Michel Errera, Lutz Klassen, Alison Sheridan & Anne-Marie Pétrequin (ed.). JADE. Grandes haches alpines du Néolithique européen. Ve et IVe millénaires av. J.-C. 1520 pages, 944 colour and 177 b&w illustrations. 2012. Besançon: Presses Universitaires d...more
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Megalithic tombs dating to the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (4000–2000 cal. BC) are a very distinctive aspect of the Irish landscape (Jones 2007; Scarre 2007). They are an important monumental aspect of this period and since the 1990s... more
Megalithic tombs dating to the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (4000–2000 cal. BC) are a very distinctive aspect of the Irish landscape (Jones 2007; Scarre 2007). They are an important monumental aspect of this period and since the 1990s our understanding of this period has been complemented by an extensive record of settlement and related activity that has been revealed through development-led archaeology (e.g. Smyth 2011). A focus of antiquarian and archaeological interest since at least the nineteenth century, the basis of modern approaches to megalithic tombs includes the systematic Megalithic Survey of Ireland that was initiated by Ruaidhrí de Valera in the 1950s, under the auspices of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland (Ó Nualláin 1989; Cody 2002 are the latest volumes published) and the excavation of key sites, for example the passage tombs of Newgrange (O’Kelly 1982; O’Kelly et al. 1983) and Knowth (Eogan 1984; 1986; Eogan and Roche 1997; Eogan and Cleary forthcoming) in the Boyn...
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In Ireland the Neolithic or Late Stone Age began sometime around 4000 BC, following at least 3000 years when small groups or bands of Mesolithic people lived the good life off the rich wild resources available at that time in Ireland.... more
In Ireland the Neolithic or Late Stone Age began sometime around 4000 BC, following at least 3000 years when small groups or bands of Mesolithic people lived the good life off the rich wild resources available at that time in Ireland. Hunter-gatherers in this type of situation where minimum effort could secure plentiful food have been referred to as the 'original affluent society'. In Ireland, given their reliance, at least for part of the year, on salmon and their apparent communal-based lifestyle, these Mesolithic people might appropriately be termed our 'original salmon pink socialists'! So why around 4000 BC do we start to get evidence of farming and a new range of artifacts that are the distinguishing marks of the Neolithic? We can postulate two different scenarios: that small groups of farming people actually came into Ireland from Britain and/or Continental Europe or that the Irish hunter-gatherer-fishers through their coastal contacts came in touch with farmi...
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... Ó hÓgáin, D.(1990) Myth, Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition. ... Ó Ríordáin, SP (1979) Antiquities of the Irish Countryside, fifth edition, revised by R ... O'Sullivan, M.(1996)'REPS,... more
... Ó hÓgáin, D.(1990) Myth, Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition. ... Ó Ríordáin, SP (1979) Antiquities of the Irish Countryside, fifth edition, revised by R ... O'Sullivan, M.(1996)'REPS, farming and archaeology.'Archaeology Ireland 37: 8. Ó Suílleabháin, S ...
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This paper offers an overview and review of the evidence for mortuary practice in Ireland in the Late Neolithic period. Assumptions about the chronological relationship between cremation and inhumation are made, and these two categories... more
This paper offers an overview and review of the evidence for mortuary practice in Ireland in the Late Neolithic period. Assumptions about the chronological relationship between cremation and inhumation are made, and these two categories are also challenged. The use of cremation as a practice in relation to passage graves and other megalithic tombs is explored for instance. The evidence is arranged chronologically, and this is followed by some discussion about what modern cremation activities can tell us about cremation in the Neolithic. Broader geographical conclusions are drawn in this significant and detailed review of burial practice in the Irish Neolithic.
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Note: this research framework, created by Alison Sheridan (National Museums Scotland) and Gabriel Cooney (University College Dublin), forms part of an article, ‘The Boyne to Brodgar initiative: understanding – and preserving, presenting... more
Note: this research framework, created by Alison Sheridan (National Museums Scotland) and Gabriel Cooney (University College Dublin), forms part of an article, ‘The Boyne to Brodgar initiative: understanding – and preserving, presenting and raising awareness of – Neolithic monuments and the people who built and used them in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man’, which will appear in the spring 2016 edition of the Journal of Irish Archaeology. The authors thank the Editor, Carleton Jones, and the publisher, Nick Maxwell, for permission to reproduce it here.
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... Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 115 15-57. Kohl, PL and Fawcett, C.(eds) 1995. ... Deconstructing'the Neolithic'in the Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition, in M. Edmonds and C. Richards (eds) Understanding... more
... Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 115 15-57. Kohl, PL and Fawcett, C.(eds) 1995. ... Deconstructing'the Neolithic'in the Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition, in M. Edmonds and C. Richards (eds) Understanding the Neolithic of North-Western Europe. ...
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The Neolithic is a transformative period marked by major cultural, social and technological change across Europe. Its global significance, long-term social impact and its spread from several origin points continue to be widely discussed.... more
The Neolithic is a transformative period marked by major cultural, social and technological change across Europe. Its global significance, long-term social impact and its spread from several origin points continue to be widely discussed. Occurring towards the end of a process involving the spread of agriculture from the Near East around 9000 BC (Robb 2013), the Neolithic period in Ireland is commonly defined chronologically as between 4000 and 2500 BC. In this paper, its final phase is considered to also include the 300 years prior to the start of the Bronze Age c. 2200 BC. The concept of transformation can be applied to this time-span from a number of perspectives, in terms of the establishment of agriculturally based societies on this island and the changes that ensue, but also how our knowledge has been advanced by recent discoveries
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In Ireland I think it could be said that while archaeology plays an important role in national identity, this role is implicit and not very welldefined. Images of monuments in mist or glorious sunshine and artefacts displayed as treasure... more
In Ireland I think it could be said that while archaeology plays an important role in national identity, this role is implicit and not very welldefined. Images of monuments in mist or glorious sunshine and artefacts displayed as treasure or jewellery are very widely deployed. This constructed past serves a variety of different purposes for a rapidly changing present, from utilization as a symbol of the long tradition of Ireland's high technological expertise — nowadays being best expressed in the computing industry, as a backdrop for the sustained (as opposed to sustainable) drive to increase tourism, to the context for a call of a revitalization of Celtic spirituality (see discussion in Gibbons 1996). More traditionally, of course, material remains played a very important role in the construction of national identities in Ireland (e.g. Crooke 1999). For these varied reasons archaeology is seen in a positive light, as a positive project, both by political decision-makers and the...
Research Interests: History, Archaeology, Politics, Antiquity, Celtic Languages, and 4 moreTourism, Irish, Primary Education, and Treasure
Peter Woodman's survey-article in ANTIQUITY, ‘Filling the spaces in Irish prehistory’ (66: 295–314), was developed from his paper to the Prehistoric Society, ‘What's new in Irish prehistory?’ Was it actually new? Did it fill the... more
Peter Woodman's survey-article in ANTIQUITY, ‘Filling the spaces in Irish prehistory’ (66: 295–314), was developed from his paper to the Prehistoric Society, ‘What's new in Irish prehistory?’ Was it actually new? Did it fill the spaces in the periods of earlier Irish prehistory that ANTIQUITY asked Professor Woodman to address? Gabriel Cooney offers a different perspective on Irish prehistory.
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The megalithic chamber tombs that are the most striking monuments of the Irish Neolithic have long been divided by the shape of their plans. With the shapes there goes a characteristic pattern of distribution and of spacing in the... more
The megalithic chamber tombs that are the most striking monuments of the Irish Neolithic have long been divided by the shape of their plans. With the shapes there goes a characteristic pattern of distribution and of spacing in the landscape, and from this arise some puzzling questions of sequence as to how ‘cemeteries’ grew up. A fresh view is taken of this old problem
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Ash, bone, and memories are all that remains after cremation. Yet for so-cieties and communities, the act of cremation after death is highly symbolic, rich with complex meaning, touching on what it means to be human. In the process of... more
Ash, bone, and memories are all that remains after cremation. Yet for so-cieties and communities, the act of cremation after death is highly symbolic, rich with complex meaning, touching on what it means to be human. In the process of transforming the dead, the family, the community, and society as a whole create and partake in cultural symbolism. Cremation is a key area of archaeological research, but its complexity has been underappreciated and undertheorized. Transformation by Fire offers a fresh assessment of archaeological research on this widespread social practice. Editors Ian Kuijt, Colin P. Quinn, and Gabriel Cooney's volume examines cremation by documenting the material signatures of cremation events and processes, as well as its transformative impact on social relations and concepts of the body. Indeed, examining why and how people chose to cremate their dead serves as an important means of understanding how people in the past dealt with death, the body, and the socia...
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Research Interests: Geography and Bronze Age
This chapter discusses the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Ireland. The ideas of identity encompassing places, pasts and presents, and people and things are seen as providing an important reference point in considering the various... more
This chapter discusses the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Ireland. The ideas of identity encompassing places, pasts and presents, and people and things are seen as providing an important reference point in considering the various strands of evidence and inter-play between large-scale environmental and social processes and lives lived locally.
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The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed description and preliminary discussion of the 29 axes from County Louth known to the author at the time of writing. Not included is an axe (now lost?) recorded only as... more
The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed description and preliminary discussion of the 29 axes from County Louth known to the author at the time of writing. Not included is an axe (now lost?) recorded only as "apparently found in County Louth" (Anon. 1906, 94). The ...
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A polished stone axehead of unusual shape was found by the late Mr John Leech of Beltichburne during ploughing operations on his farm some time in the late 1930s or early 1940s. It was recovered in what is known as... more
A polished stone axehead of unusual shape was found by the late Mr John Leech of Beltichburne during ploughing operations on his farm some time in the late 1930s or early 1940s. It was recovered in what is known as the'Yellow'field in the townland of ...
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LANDSCAPES OF NEOLITHIC IRELAND The Neolithic period in Ireland is well-known for its wealth of archaeo-logical monuments, such as Newgrange. Landscapes of Neolithic Ireland is the first volume to be devoted solely to the Irish Neolithic,... more
LANDSCAPES OF NEOLITHIC IRELAND The Neolithic period in Ireland is well-known for its wealth of archaeo-logical monuments, such as Newgrange. Landscapes of Neolithic Ireland is the first volume to be devoted solely to the Irish Neolithic, using an inno-vative ...
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... European and global archaeologies. View full textDownload full text Full access. DOI: 10.1080/00438240903402695 Gabriel Cooney pages 626-628. ... American Antiquity , 73(4): 579–97. [Web of Science ®] View all references; Watkins... more
... European and global archaeologies. View full textDownload full text Full access. DOI: 10.1080/00438240903402695 Gabriel Cooney pages 626-628. ... American Antiquity , 73(4): 579–97. [Web of Science ®] View all references; Watkins 200513. Watkins, J. 2005. ...
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It is now over twenty-five years since the publication of a World Archaeology volume (1984, 16(2)) on stone quarries. That volume marked a growing interest in the topic (e.g. Ericson and Purdy 1984; Torrence 1986) and since that time our... more
It is now over twenty-five years since the publication of a World Archaeology volume (1984, 16(2)) on stone quarries. That volume marked a growing interest in the topic (e.g. Ericson and Purdy 1984; Torrence 1986) and since that time our understanding of the significance of the recognition, extraction and production of artefacts from particular stone sources has dramatically increased and changed. Ericson identified the character of the material record on stone mine and quarry sites as ‘shattered, overlapping, sometimes shallow, nondiagnostic, undatable, unattractive, redundant, and at times voluminous’ (1984: 2). In extracting knowledge and realizing the interpretative potential of these data not surprisingly a major trend has been to recognize and work with the character of this record and to further develop approaches that have been traditionally at the heart of quarry and mine studies, such as the need to take a geologically informed approach and the critical importance of matching artefacts with their specific sources. New analytical approaches allied to the application of a range of scientific techniques, particularly geochemical ones, have facilitated the discrimination of the use of sources, the tracking of the process of working stone, the nature and scale of production zones and the geographical extent of movement of objects from sources. To take just three examples, Weisler and colleagues have demonstrated that using geochemical analysis to identify specific island sources for basalt adzes plays a key role in understanding island and archipelago interaction in Polynesia (Weisler 1998; Weisler and Kirch 1996). In Europe Projet JADE has identified quarries for jadeitite, eclogite and omphacitite axes at Mont Viso and in the Mont Beigua massif in the north Italian Alps, 2000–2400m above sea level, and the circulation of axes in Neolithic societies over 1000km from this source area (Pétrequin et al. 2008; in press). LeBlanc and colleagues (2010) have shown that geochemical approaches have the potential to differentiate Mistassini quartzite from northen Quebec and Ramah chert from Labrador, which can be confused in visual inspection. This geochemical differentation is of considerable importance given that these materials were among the most widely used in the manufacture of stone tools in eastern Sub-Artic prehistory. But, important as these advances have been, a more important development informing quarry and related studies has been a shift to centre stage of a different understanding of the role of stone. While contemporary capitalist societies tend to perceive stone and other minerals as passive commodities, in pre-industrial societies and in the past stone was not viewed as neutral and inert but rather as animate, alive, with rich symbolic potential
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Afforestation will be the single most important agent of rural landscape change in Ireland in the 1990s. At the same time the value of another resource - the cultural heritage - is seen as the core of the drive to improve our tourist... more
Afforestation will be the single most important agent of rural landscape change in Ireland in the 1990s. At the same time the value of another resource - the cultural heritage - is seen as the core of the drive to improve our tourist industry. This paper outlines the impact of afforestation policies on the cultural landscape , especially the archaeological heritage. It analyses the key issue of the nature and management of that heritage which is not as widely understood as it might be. Finally it suggests that a more sensitive approach would not only protect the archaeological heritage but lead to a better understanding of the role of woodland as an integral part of the historic rural environment.
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The social processes involved in acquiring flint and stone in the Neolithic began to be considered over thirty years ago, promoting a more dynamic view of past extraction processes. Whether by quarrying, mining or surface retrieval, the... more
The social processes involved in acquiring flint and stone in the Neolithic began to be considered over thirty years ago, promoting a more dynamic view of past extraction processes. Whether by quarrying, mining or surface retrieval, the geographic source locations of raw materials and their resultant archaeological sites have been approached from different methodological and theoretical perspectives. In recent years this has included the exploration of previously undiscovered sites, refined radiocarbon dating, comparative ethnographic analysis and novel analytical approaches to stone tool manufacture and provenancing. The aim of this volume in the Neolithic Studies Group Papers is to explore these new findings on extraction sites and their products. How did the acquisition of raw materials fit into other aspects of Neolithic life and social networks? How did these activities merge in creating material items that underpinned cosmology, status and identity? What are the geographic similarities, constraints and variables between the various raw materials, and how does the practise of stone extraction in the UK relate to wider extractive traditions in northwestern Europe? Eight papers address these questions and act as a useful overview of the current state of research on the topic.
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A notable feature of the Neolithic Period (4,000-2,500 cal B.C.) of northwest Europe is the exploitation of lithic sources on islands for the production of stone axeheads and other artifacts. This article focuses on three such islands: 1)... more
A notable feature of the Neolithic Period (4,000-2,500 cal B.C.) of northwest Europe is the exploitation of lithic sources on islands for the production of stone axeheads and other artifacts. This article focuses on three such islands: 1) Rathlin in the North Channel off the northeast coast of Ireland, 2) the island group of Shetland between the North Atlantic and the North Sea, and 3) the island of Lambay off the east coast of Ireland. This work provides support for the importance of insular axehead sources during the Neolithic. The quarries on these islands and the pattern of the distribution of their products provide evidence of quite different scales and organization of quarrying activity and extent of distribution of products from the quarries and hence types of social networks.
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This paper examines the relationship between the use of late Irish passage tombs and the development of the British and Irish Grooved Ware complex, including its Orcadian origins. The architectural forms of these passage tombs and their... more
This paper examines the relationship between the use of late Irish passage tombs and the development of the British and Irish Grooved Ware complex, including its Orcadian origins. The architectural forms of these passage tombs and their associated material culture, symbolic repertoires, and depositional practices in Ireland and Orkney indicate sustained connections between people in these places. It is argued that these interactions strongly influenced the development of Grooved Ware and its associated material culture in Orkney and beyond. The results of recent dating programmes are synthesised, and the character of depositional practices from 3300 to 2700 cal bc are reassessed to highlight continuities in traditions of practice and representation. Together, these indicate that the adoption of Grooved Ware in Ireland did not herald an era of large-scale social transformation and that the primary use of late passage tombs did not suddenly cease at the end of the 4th millennium bc. I...
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The Bend of the Boyne, or Brú na Bóinne, has been an important ritual, social and economic centre for thousands of years. Internationally renowned for its elaborate Neolithic passage tombs, and containing the largest assemblage of... more
The Bend of the Boyne, or Brú na Bóinne, has been an important ritual, social and economic centre for thousands of years. Internationally renowned for its elaborate Neolithic passage tombs, and containing the largest assemblage of megalithic art in Europe, its universal value was recognised in 1993 when it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS), only one of three on the island of Ireland. The Heritage Council, in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, has published a research framework for Brú na Bóinne re-assessing key priorities and looking at where future research should be directed.