The Neolithic in Ireland was a decisive period: people discovered agriculture and pottery, built megalithic tombs and used increasingly advanced stone tools. These developments have enabled them to explode demographically, reaching between 100,000 and 2,000 individuals… Here’s an overview of these major developments, which have gradually shaped the image of an Ireland now overrun with Neolithic megaliths…
Agriculture was born around 3500/3000 BC in Ireland. The Neolithic revolution in agriculture led to a considerable population boom in the Middle East, which gradually spread to Europe and Ireland… The knowledge was passed on to a handful of farmers who came to invest in Ireland.
The inhabitants discovered the art of cultivating the land, as well as raising sheep, goats and cattle. The now fertile Irish lands were then worked: cereals were planted, and real fields were laid out, protected by dry-stone walls…
One of the most famous Neolithic fields is the one discovered at Céide Fields in County Mayo, under a thick layer of peat. The latter is gigantic, in the form of a multitude of interconnected fields bounded by stone walls… Wheat and barley were grown here between 3500 and 3000 BC.
In addition to the agricultural revolution, the population also discovered pottery. It was discovered at the same time as agriculture, and was already being used to make tableware. Numerous bowls will be found in Limerick and Ulster…
The Neolithic period was also particularly marked by the sudden appearance of megalithic monuments (from the Greek megos, large, and lithos, stone) erected for the dead all over the island (over 1,200 sites have been recorded). This proliferation is incredibly dense, and its remains are still particularly present in Ireland today (attracting several thousand tourists every year).
Its megaliths fall into 3 distinct categories:
What these 3 categories of megaliths have in common is that, in the eyes of the people of the time, they were first and foremost religious sites. All served as tombs: cremated and uncremated human remains were found, as well as offerings such as pottery, arrowheads and axes…
