An brief overview of the Bronze Age in Ireland.

1. Bronze Age in Ireland
The People and their Customs

2. Lesson Objectives
• To examine the various developments brought
about in the Bronze Age period in Ireland (2,500-
500BC).
• Pictures will be used to bring the subject matter to
life.
• This period will be compared to the Neolithic period
through the completion of group exercises.

3. An Overview
 The Bronze Age period began in Ireland in roughly the
year 2,500BC.
 This period received its name due to the fact bronze (a
mixture of copper and tin) began to be used in the
country.
 The use of this compound revolutionised the lives of
Irish farmers.
 Improved weaponry and tools and the introduction of
elaborate jewellery represented major advancement.

4. Weaponry and Tools
 Bronze was perfect for the creation of weaponry and
tools as it was easily moulded and shaped.
 The most well-known tool of the period was the sickle.
 The sickle was sharp and nimble making it ideal for the
cutting of crops and grasses…

5. The Sickle
* A Bronze Age
sickle missing its
handle.

6. QUESTION TIME!
What do you think the evidence of tools
such as the sickle tell us about the
nature of Irish society during the
Bronze Age?

7. Lunulae
 The Bronze Age brought about the creation of gold
objects in Ireland.
 Most of this gold came from the rivers of Co. Wicklow.
 The most striking piece of gold found were the necklaces
known as lunulae.
 Out of the 100 lunulae found in Europe, 80 were located
in Ireland.

8. * Lunula found in
Blessington, Co. Wicklow.

9. QUESTION TIME!
1)Who would have worn lunulae?
2)What was the purpose of wearing one
at the time?

10. Burial Customs
 Most Bronze Age people were buried in cist graves or
wedge tombs.
 The cist grave consisted of a shallow pit, lined with
stone slabs and covered by a large flat stone.
 Bodies were either placed in a crouched position or
burnt, with the bones being contained in a large pot
inside the tomb.
 Food was often placed within the tomb too.

11. Cist Grave
What objects can
you see in this
tomb?

12. Wedge Tombs
 Wedge tombs were built above ground.
 They were made from stone slabs.
 They were low and narrow at the back and higher and
wider at the front.
 The slabs were then covered in earth, just like the
dolmen.

13. Wedge Tomb

14. Stone Circles
 Stone circles were built during the Bronze Age by
placing large upright stones into the ground.
 Archaeologists remain unsure about their use.
 It is possible that they acted as a place of worship.
 Most stone circles are aligned to the sun so it is possible
that they acted as a calendar to farmers.

16. Fulachta Fiadh
 Bronze Age people ate the same food as Neolithic
people.
 They grew crops such as wheat and barley to make
bread and porridge.
 They cooked meat from cattle, pigs and sheep over a
large fire in bronze cauldrons.
 However more famously, they also cooked using a large
hole…

17. Contd…
 Hot water was poured into the hole and brought to the
boil by placing large stones, which had been heated in a
fire, into the water-filled trough.
 They removed these stones by gripping them with
wooden sticks.
 These cooking places are known as fulachta fiadh
(hunting troughs).

19. Pair Work!
 In what ways were the Bronze Age
farmers similar and different to
Neolithic farmers?