C. O Drisceoil 2006 A Neolithic Disc-Bead Necklace from Carrickmines Great, County Dublin, JRSAI 136, 141-157.

A Neolithic Disc-Bead Necklace from Carrickmines Great, County DublinAuthor(s): Cóilín Ó DrisceoilSource: The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 136 (2006), pp. 141-156Published by: Royal Society of Antiquaries of IrelandStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25509130 .

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141

A Neolithic Disc-Bead Necklace

from Carrickmines Great, County Dublin

Coilin 6 Drisceoil

In 2002 excavations at Carrickmines Great townland in south county Dublin recorded

within a Late Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement site a small pit which was found to

have contained a disc-bead necklace and fragments of a pottery vessel. A radiocarbon

determination on associated material provided a mid fourth millennium cal. BC date for the activity. This paper describes the Neolithic material, places it in context and explores its possible meaning.

INTRODUCTION Carrickmines Great in south county Dublin was the scene for archaeological excavations that

took place in 2002 arising from the construction of the South-Eastern Motorway (Figure l).1 Situated at the base of the Dublin Mountains and 3.5km inland from Killiney Bay, the site forms some of the first flat ground encountered on the northeast side of the mountain range. A large

boggy area immediately to the south of the site was a former lake and the focus for settlements and related activities throughout much of the prehistoric period.

Stippling the terrain around Carrickmines is a chain of megalithic tombs that bear witness to the presence of communities here during the Neolithic (Figure 2). In recent years the archaeology of these people has been augmented greatly by the increase in open-area excavations around

Dublin, work which has led to new discoveries such as the settlements at Kilgobbin and Kishoge and a Neolithic axe production site at Lambay Island (O Donovan 2003-4; Cooney 2000, 195-7;

Hagan 2006). This paper provides the first published account of another new discovery of Neolithic date from the county.

THE EXCAVATIONS Archaeological excavations at Carrickmines Great have documented a sequence of prehistoric

activity that ranged over a period of four millennia, from the Neolithic to the Iron Age (Figure 3).2 A pit-cremation of 4th - 6th century cal. AD date formed the latest archaeological activity on the site and this was preceded in the La Tene Iron Age (c.200 cal. BC) by a settlement that comprised a roundhouse (the first Iron Age example from County Dublin), an iron-smelting furnace and associated domestic structures. Late Bronze Age (c. 1000 cal. BC) activity took the form of a series of cooking-pits, huts and hearths that were probably on the edge of a larger settlement. The earliest archaeology recorded was a pit of Neolithic date and this forms the subject for this paper.

THE NEOLITHIC PIT The pit was isolated from the two main foci of Late Bronze Age and Iron Age activity (Figure

4). It was a well-defined, circular feature 0.80m diameter x 0.25m deep. The base and sides were

[email protected] JRSAI Vol. 136 (2006): 141-157



142 COILIN 6 DRISCEOIL

Fig. 1 Carrickmines Great, site location.



A NEOLITHIC DISC-BEAD NECKLACE FROM CARRICKMINES GREAT, COUNTY DUBLIN 143

?? -?- y Urban Area V

i^dMbNAffiS^SWSP^fe^^^ / ."* ./

ill ?*~- ? \

BBBBBB^B!sM?m ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^K^kl^n^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HflHBsl^^^^^P'- 1

biiiiMiyB^

# Passage tomb o Wedge tomb n Neolithic house site 0 N?P o,cP ̂

D Portal tomb A Unclassified tomb I 1 ^^^^B metres OD

Fig. 2 Distribution map of megalithic tombs in the greater Dublin area

(after Cooney 2000, 145 with additions).

lined with clay and it was cut in such a way that a narrow shelf was formed along one side. From

the pit, nine disc-beads were recovered, three of which were found together on the shelf, indicating that the complete article was most likely originally placed here; the other beads were subsequently

displaced by roots, whose tracks within the pit were clearly visible (Figure 5). After the beads were placed, the pit was then backfilled; the absence of erosion to the sides or

base indicated there was little time-lag between its opening and closing. A mix of redeposited subsoil (probably the material dug out to form the feature) and burnt debris of ash, charred oak

(Quercus sp.), hazel (Corylus avellana) and hazelnut shells filled the pit (O Carroll 2004). This

was presumably the waste from a fireplace, within which sherds of Western Neolithic pottery,

chips of flint and grains of charred wheat (Triticum species) were identified (Ballin 2003; Brindley

2002; Johnson 2003). One of the Triticum grains produced a radiocarbon determination of

4820?35 (Poz-11604) which calibrates to between 3610-3520 cal. BC, ie. the end of the Early Neolithic or beginning of the Middle Neolithic.3

THE DISC-BEADS

The nine disc-beads were manufactured from water-rolled, disc-shaped pebbles that were all

variations of the same rock type, a light grey-green metamorphosed clay (fine mudstone)



144 C6ILIN 6 DRISCEOIL

f?;--;? ?

j '

!i ". "

!

! Ji fr^ S

! # i

i* x III i

i -

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'ix/-x. .! .;. rv ^ ! .;rix>v. # !

:: W:-''l;';- !

'

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7 X f,?J I !

Fig. 3 Carrickmines Great, plan showing Iron Age, Late Bronze Age and Neolithic archaeology.




1 " . ".' '"; '!> <;<.i'<?-.., |,'i/i.ii niiii iii XfrX11* >!' 'd iA'J?iii? ,n i|i.i.i,);.j,]|-,li.lwî..i,ir.,?Mii,i,-,ii.-.iiiivl ..,.., m,,. " r.*.v.i.i..

Fig 4 Carrickmines Great, plan and section of the Neolithic pit which contained the disc-bead necklace, Pit 42.

containing dark blue bands and mineral growth (probably garnet) (Figures 6-7; Mandal 2003). It is likely the stones were sourced locally from river gravels or the underlying till.

The beads were all flat with a smooth finish and ranged in thickness from 2.57mm - 5.69mm.

Their diameters extended from 11.49mm - 22.30mm and their weights from 0.45g -

2.15g. Two

shapes of bead were represented -

roughly circular (Nos. 1, 2, 3, 7) and irregular/notched (Nos. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9). Those that were of true circular outline were also the smallest (Nos. 1 and 7) and the beads graduated in size from these to form an attractive symmetrical piece that may have originally appeared as in Figure 7.

All of the beads were perforated slightly off-centre and from one side, probably with the aid of a flint piercer. This would have allowed them to hang together in a uniform manner. The direction of boring was clearly visible as a carved ring around the perforation-hole. In all cases,

there was wear in the form of smoothing visible on the circumference of the hole, a consequence

of the abrasion caused by the cord on which the beads would have been threaded. In one case

(No.4) this had elongated the shape of the perforation, indicating the item had been worn for a




'*!^^^ l;:;'^frl; y^^^^BBBB^^^^^^^^^K^^^^mW'^ ' $flpHBGE' < ^^^^^^^^Mi^^^^^^^t^^^^^^^^^^^BBBBK^^^^^ ~

Fig 5 The Carrickmines Great disc-beads 'in-situ' within Pit 42. Note the three beads together on the 'shelf, indicating that the complete article was most likely originally placed here

(photo by Coilin 6 Drisceoil).




I .; I . T. ;

No.4 "> '* :'Hq? '^ \:,-'''. . '

No-6

' ;'

Na7 Na8 Na9

Fig 6 Carrickmines Great disc-beads from Pit 42 (drawn by Margaret Keane).




L * "

*HI -l : ^* ^^ W'A ".la"

- j^^B

Fig. 7 The Carrickmines Great disc-beads strung together as they may originally have appeared

(photo by Coilin O Drisceoil).

considerable period of time. How exactly it was worn is not entirely clear though given the rather

soft character of the stone used, it probably was sported as a necklace rather than as a bracelet, where it would have been more prone to damage. A descriptive catalogue of the disc-beads is

provided in Appendix 1.

About 300 disc-beads have been recovered from prehistoric domestic and funerary sites

(predominantly passage tombs) scattered around Ireland (O'Sullivan 2005, 125,136-139; Sheridan

1985, fig.4.9, 158-159). Those that can be dated to the first half of the fourth millennium BC occur in the majority of cases in what may be considered 'settlement' contexts (Figure 9). This

was certainly the case at Knowth where a pit (Pit 17) adjacent to a rectangular Neolithic house

produced two serpentine disc-beads, sherds of Western Neolithic pottery and lithics (Figure 10;

Eogan 1984, 234-5 and figure 78). Likewise, early Neolithic houses at Corbally, Co. Kildare and

Cloghers, Co. Kerry had disc-beads in their foundation trenches (Purcell 2002; Kiely 2003). At

Circle L, Lough Gur the deposition of a complete necklace occurred prior to the construction of a dwelling over it (Figure 10; 6 Riordain 1954, 347, Figure 23:18 PI. 32b: 10; Grogan and Eogan 1987, 391-2, Figures 36-37, Plate XVIIa). It is interesting to note that many of the Lough Gur

beads carried the same distinctive 'notching' as the Carrickmines examples4; Grogan and Eogan

suggested the resultant curved profile was symbolic of the female form (Grogan and Eogan 1987,

391; Alison Sheridan pers.comm.).

THE POTTERY Five pottery sherds were recovered from the pit, small portions of the rim, neck and body of a

single, large, thick-walled, shouldered bowl (Figure 8; Brindley 2002). It appears from the nature




10mm ??r i

Fig. 8 Carrickmines Great shouldered bowl of 'modified Western Neolithic' type (drawn by Florence Coppi).

of the breaks, which had clearly occurred in antiquity, that the pottery was deposited into the pit already broken, probably as refuse. The style of pottery may be considered as 'modified Western

Neolithic', ie. a regional variant of the original 'traditional Western Neolithic' pottery of the early fourth millennium BC (Sheridan 1995). The dating of'modified Western Neolithic' pottery to the

period 3600-3400 cal. BC by Brindley accords well with the radiocarbon determination noted

above (Brindley 2002).

DISCUSSION At Carrickmines Great c. 3500 cal. BC a single pit was dug and promptly filled again with the

ash from a hearth, as well as some of the soil removed to create the feature. Included in this deposit were flint-chips, fragments from a broken pottery-bowl and charred cereal remains. Before the

backfilling occurred a fine necklace of stone disc-beads had been placed on a small ledge on the

pit-edge. This begs the question, why did it end up here?




E

-L

w

Fig. 9 Distribution map of early-mid fourth millennium BC disc-beads from Ireland.




" -CSvi- mil- ^fe- w *-' '-*

<^r >&?* ^^ y i?^BjBgp *

^.. . *

1037 1920 1821 1822 1923

.-. - -*- -- til

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g2^-- 1928 1929 1930 W': ?x

.^^^ 1931. ,^^î' ,,ii 'i i i 11_

1906 1907 1908 1*? jft[ ?*!Î*!T'"X^^\.

19?> 1911 1912 1913 1914 !

1915 1?? 1917 1918 1919 | 1044 1045

Fig. 10 Disc-beads from Circle L Lough Gur, Co. Limerick (Grogan and Eogan 1987, figures 36, 37) and Knowth, Co. Meath 'later Western Neolithic

Complex' Pit 17 (Eogan 1984, figure 83).




Recent years have seen much discussion around the interpretation of pits of Neolithic date (eg. Edmonds 1999, 29; Thomas 1999, 64; Garrow 2005). Whilst in the past, explanations such as

'rubbish pits', 'storage pits' and suchlike dominated, detailed study of what is actually contained

within them has created concepts that centre on the idea that items that meant something were put in places that were considered special. Arising from this there have been attempts to engage with

the question of what the meaning behind such deposits may have been, and in so doing

'metaphorical engagements' with the landscape and the marking of particular places or events

have been suggested as explanations. These analyses have occurred primarily in relation to British

sites, with the exception of excavations at Goodlands, County Antrim and Lambay Island, Co.

Dublin where the excavators were able to demonstrate that the practice of 'structured deposition'

in pits had occurred within the context of rock extraction (Case 1973; Gibson 1998, 15; Edmonds

1999, 29; Chapman 2000; Cooney 2000, 197). Can the foregoing assist in arriving at an

understanding of the Carrickmines Great pit?

Regrettably, virtually nothing is known about the immediate context of the site that might furnish clues and a key question that must remain unanswered is: was the pit actually an isolated

l ll

A A N I I I

20mm

Fig. 11 Carrickmines Great, scale-flaked knife of early Neolithic type discovered in

the topsoil near the pit (drawn by Lisa Wilson).




feature? While the absence of any contemporary activity from the wide area investigated around

the feature would suggest this was the case, it is possible that the pit represents all that remains

of a temporary camp that has left no other archaeological trace. Is it possible for instance it

represents all that remains of a temporary camp that has left no other archaeological trace?

Certainly the nature of the debris in the backfill - flint chips, broken pottery, charred grain and

wood - could well have originated in such a context and a flint knife of early Neolithic type discovered in the topsoil nearby reinforces the impression (Figure 11) (Ballin 2003). Interpretation as a domestic refuse-pit or storage-pit however, appears unlikely: why would a necklace be placed

with such care in a refuse pit? And would a storage pit have been backfilled so rapidly with waste? It is quite striking that at Lough Gur there was also a specially built ledge constructed to hold

the bead-necklace, which is more than a little reminiscent of the Carrickmines Great example. Does this indicate there was a certain tradition involving this form of disc-bead? The

anthropomorphism seen in both the Carrickmines Great and Lough Gur beads would also tend to

add weight to this suggestion. Moreover the fmdspots of the disc-beads from Corbally, Lough Gur Circle L and Cloghers in house foundation trenches is interesting. Could they be considered as foundation offerings, the marking of a place prior to the construction of a dwelling? If so, this

would suggest the disc-beads were items with a particular meaning. Is there any particular reason that the site's location was chosen? There is nothing particularly

striking in terms of its topography but the density of portal-tombs (six within 10km) within the area does indicate it was an area of some significance within the Neolithic mindset (Figure 2). Could it be consequently, that the pit and its contents were placed here because this location held a particular connotation in the Neolithic?

CONCLUSION Archaeological excavations at Carrickmines Great have produced evidence for a remarkable

sequence of prehistoric archaeology ranging from the Neolithic to Iron Age. Some five and a half thousand years ago a pit was dug to contain a fine disc-bead necklace. The manner in which the necklace was placed within the pit and its location in an area steeped in the portal-tomb tradition

signifies this may have been no ordinary rubbish or storage feature. What was represented is difficult to determine, though it can be seen to form part of a tradition of depositing special items in places that were of importance within the Neolithic landscape.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The excavations at Carrickmines Great were funded by the National Roads Authority and Dun Laoighre Rathdown County Council and were project managed by V.J. Keeley Ltd. Archaeological Consultants. I am

grateful to the excavation team and staff at V.J. Keeley Ltd. for their assistance throughout. Dr. Alison

Sheridan provided valuable information on Irish Neolithic disc-beads, for which I am most grateful. I also

wish to acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Anna L. Brindley who produced the prehistoric pottery report, Adrian Kennedy who undertook the conservation of the beads, Dr. Stephen Mandal for petrological analysis of the disc-beads and Dr. Ingelise Stuijts and Ellen O Carroll who carried out the charcoal identifications.

Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 were produced by Philip Kenny. Figure 6 was drawn by Margaret Keane and Figure 8 by Florence Coppi. Lisa Wilson drew Figure 11. I am also indebted to Gary Conboy, who discovered the

Carrickmines Great site during archaeological monitoring for V J. Keeley Ltd.




BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Coilin 6 Drisceoil MA, MIAI is a co-director of Kilkenny Archaeology, archaeological consultants. He is

the present editor of the Old Kilkenny Review, journal of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society.

APPENDIX 1: THE DISC-BEAD NECKLACE CATALOGUE

This catalogue describes each of the nine disc-beads in turn. Following their discovery the beads were sent for cleaning and conservation measures to Mr. Adrian Kennedy, Heritage Care (Kennedy 2002). The catalogue provides the post treatment particulars. Figure 6 provides illustrations of the beads.

1. 02E272:41:1

Material: Metamorphosed clay (fine mudstone) Colour: Light greenish grey (10Y 8/1) Dimensions: T. 2.57mm. Diam. 11.65mm

Weight: 0.47g

Shape: Circular

Comments: Surface smooth. Slightly off-centre perforation bored from one side only.

Sign of wear on circumference of hole. Central crack occurred in antiquity.

2. 02E272:154:1

Material: Metamorphosed clay (fine mudstone) Colour: Light greenish grey (5GY 8/1) Dimensions: T. 4.30mm. Diam. 19.38mm

Weight: 1.70g

Shape: Sub-circular

Comments: Off-centre perforation bored from one side only.

Sign of wear on circumference of hole. Surface cracks occurred in antiquity.

3. 02E272:154:2

Material: Metamorphosed clay (fine mudstone) Colour: Light greenish grey (10Y 8/1) Dimensions: T. 4mm. Diam. 21.20mm

Weight: 2.\5g

Shape: Sub-circular

Comments: Off-centre perforation bored from one side only. Sign of wear on circumference of hole. Blue geological bands visible above hole. Roughly parallel striations below. Surface cracks occurred in antiquity.

4. 02E272:154:3


Weight: 1.40g

Shape: Notched

Comments: Off-centre perforation bored from one side only. Sign of wear on circumference of hole.

Blue geological striations visible. Surface fracture occurred in antiquity.

5. 02E272:154:9


Weight: 0.87g




Shape: Curved

Comments: Off-centre perforation bored from one side only. Sign of wear on circumference of hole. Surface fractures

occurred both in antiquity and one adjacent the hole post-excavation.

6. 02E272:154/165:1

Material: Metamorphosed clay (fine mudstone) Colour: Light greenish grey (5GY 8/1) Dimensions: T. 4mm. Diam. 17.10mm

Weight: 0.92g

Shape: Notched

Comments: Slightly off-centre perforation bored from one side only. Sign of wear on circumference of hole.

Surface fracture occurred in antiquity.

7. 02E272:154/165:2


Weight: 0.45g

Shape: Circular

Comments: Slightly off-centre perforation bored from one side only. Sign of wear on circumference of hole. Surface

fractures occurred in antiquity, break occurred post-excavation.

8. 02E272:154/165:3


Weight: 1.49g

Shape: Curved

Comments: Off-centre perforation bored from one side only. Sign of wear on circumference of hole.

Surface fracture occurred in antiquity and break post-excavation.

9. 02E272:154/165:4


Weight: 2.08g

Shape: Notched

Comments: Slightly off-centre perforation bored from one side only. Sign of wear on circumference of hole.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BALLIN, T., 2003, Carrickmines Great (sites 59-62), County Dublin, Ireland: The Lithic Assemblage. Lithic Research,

Unpublished.

BRINDLEY, A.L., 2002, Report on Prehistoric Pottery from Excavations at Carrickmines Great, Co. Dublin,

(02E272). Unpublished, V.J. Keeley Ltd.

CASE, H.J., 1973, 'A ritual site in north-east Ireland', in G. Daniel and P. Kjaerum (eds.), Megalithic Graves and

Ritual, 173-96. Moesgard, Denmark.

CHAPMAN, J., 2000, 'Pit digging and structured deposition in the Neolithic and Copper Age', Proceedings of the

Prehistoric Society 66, 61-87.

COONEY, G., 2000, Landscapes of the Irish Neolithic, Routledge: London.




EDMONDS, M., 1999, Ancestral Geographies of the Neolithic: landscapes, monuments and memory. London.

EOGAN, G., 1984, Excavations at Knowth 1. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin.

GARROW, D., 2005, 'Pit Clusters and the Temporality of Occupation: an Earlier Neolithic Site at Kilverstone,

Thetford, Norfolk', Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 71, 139-157.

GIBSON, A., 1998, Stonehenge and Timber Circles. Stroud.

GROGAN, E. and EOGAN, G., 1987, 'Lough Gur Excavations by Sean P. 6 Riordain: Further Neolithic and Beaker

Habitations on Knockadoon', Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 87C, 299-506.

HAGAN, I., 2006, 'Kilgobbin' in I. Bennett (ed.) Excavations 2003, no.616. Wordwell, Bray.

JOHNSON, P., 2003, Analysis of Plant Remains Southeastern Motorway Excavations Carrickmines Great and

Murphystown, County Dublin. M. Gowen and Co. Ltd., Upublished.

KENNEDY, A., 2002, Conservation Report, Stone Pendants, Carrickmines, Co. Dublin 02E272. Heritage Care

(unpublished).

KIELY, J., 2003, 'A Neolithic House at Cloghers, Co. Kerry', in I. Armit, E. Murphy, E. Neilis and D. Simpson (eds.) Neolithic Settlement in Ireland and Western Britain, 182-187. Oxford.

MANDAL, S., 2003, 'Petrological Report on Stone Pendants Found During Archaeological Excavation at

Carrickmines Great, Co. Dublin (Licence Number 02E272)'. Unpublished, C.R.D.S. Ltd.

O CARROLL, E., 2004, Species Identification of Charcoal Samples from Carrickmines Great, Co. Dublin 02E272.

Unpublished.

O'DONOVAN, E., 2003-4, 'A Neolithic House at Kishoge, Co. Dublin', Journal of Irish Archaeology XII & XIII, 1-28.

6 RIORDAlN, S.P, 1954, 'Lough Gur Excavations: Neolithic and Bronze Age Houses on Knockadoon', Proceedings

of the Royal Irish Academy 55C, 61 -81.

O'SULLIVAN, M., 2005, Duma na nGaill Tara and the Mound of the Hostages, Wordwell, Bray.

PURCELL, A., 2002, 'Excavation of Three Neolithic Houses at Corbally, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare', The Journal of Irish

Archaeology XI, 31-75.

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Prehistory of Ireland from the Fourth to Early Second Millennium B.C. Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Cambridge

University, unpublished.

SHERIDAN, A., 1995, 'Irish Neolithic Pottery: the story in 1995', in LA. Kinnes and G. Varndell (eds), Unbaked Urns

of Rudely Shape, 3-22. Oxford Monograph 55. Oxford.

THOMAS, J., 1999, Understanding the Neolithic. London.

NOTES

1 NGC 322287 223772 2 The full excavation report is at the time of writing, being prepared for publication. 3 Calibrated with OxCal vers. 3.10, stated calibration at c.95% probability. 4 In particular nos.5, 6, 8 and 9.



C. O Drisceoil 2006 A Neolithic Disc-Bead Necklace from Carrickmines Great, County Dublin, JRSAI 136, 141-157.

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