Goidils

**Taliferno** · 07-09-2009, 00:32

Originally Posted by Elmetiacos

No, not at all: just that there wasn't the same increase in population that were was among the Continental Celts, or even the lowland Britons.

In the early Bronze Age, Ireland was building New Grange, inventing the Hibernian Axe (which I think was the first purely military weapon in Western Europe) and exporting gold lunulae. Roughly at the same time as the Beaker Culture spread, the easily accessible gold and copper deposits seem to have started to dry up and Ireland stopped being the land of milk and honey and was left on the edge of later developments.

By the Hibernian Axe do you mean the "Halberd"? I know that it occurs more in Ireland that the rest of Europe but not that it was invented here.

In any case the bronze age in Ireland was great, but not nearly as great as some of the theories about its decline (such as Mike Bailey's Comet). Also, two or three years ago they found Irelands first town near Derry, constructed during the bronze age.

As for the Iron Age, part of the problem is that many Iron Age sites were built over/continued in the early christian period. For example, the Cathedral and part of the town of armagh is built on top of a supposed Iron Age hillfort (probably would have turned out to be bronze age anyway).

Next year the DOE are planning to do a series of excavations along the Dorsey (and maybe the Danes Cast) which SHOULD turn up Iron Age material, maybe even of a military nature. Of course planning to do something is alot different than doing it.

**Elmetiacos** · 07-09-2009, 15:06

Originally Posted by Taliferno

By the Hibernian Axe do you mean the "Halberd"? I know that it occurs more in Ireland that the rest of Europe but not that it was invented here.

Have I got the wrong name? The copper spike on a stick, looking much like a smaller version of the mediaeval bec-de-corbin...

**Ludens** · 07-09-2009, 19:46

Thanks for the answers, Elmetiacos and oudysseos.

**Taliferno** · 07-09-2009, 20:46

Originally Posted by Elmetiacos

Have I got the wrong name? The copper spike on a stick, looking much like a smaller version of the mediaeval bec-de-corbin...

Yeap, thats the halberd. Not to sure why its called that but it is, unless they've changed it is more recent years. Hibernian axe sounds better. Back in the 60s the culture was called the "halberd men" or "men of the halberd".