Most writers in the past have attributed the stone forts of the west of Ireland to the Firbolgs of the first century of our era, basing their conclusions on a bardic legend recited a thousand years after their invasion. But the forts are too numerous, and many of too vast proportions, for the stricken remnants of a race to have raised in their defence when driven to their last extremity on the wild shores of the Atlantic. The far-fetched theory, too, like many other such, that they were erected by sea-rovers to hold their spoils, is equally untenable for the same and other very apparent reasons. The absence of water-supplies within the forts, which has puzzled some, is paralleled in the British and other European forts, and was no doubt a precautionary measure to prevent the pollution of springs and wells. It is an indication, also, that the forts were not intended to stand a prolonged siege, a practice in warfare of a later time, but were raised as a protection against raiding and sudden assault. Their height above the sea was to give greater security, and their commanding sites, with due precaution in watching, prevented the dwellers being taken unawares. When life and property were unsafe, the desire for security, as well as social habit, gave rise to these works. The dwellers fortified their camps for themselves and their cattle, moving about freely in times of peace, and withdrawing to these strongholds in times of danger. They were as much a necessity in early days as the walls and bastions defending the towns in the Middle Ages. Their extraordinary number, out of all proportion compared to Scotland with its 1300, testify to the fact that the land was not a peaceful land long before the coming of the Dane. It is difficult in the present state of our knowledge even to approximate the date of their first introduction, as it is difficult, if not impossible, to assign a definite date to any archæological period in Ireland. The Irish forts are among the finest of a type of primitive defences extending across the continent of Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean shores of Greece. The construction of the walls in sections, and the passages and chambers, link the western forts through similar, though more perfect, features with the cyclopean walls of Tiryns, Mycenæ, and the Punic cities of North Africa. The cashels, the mounds, and the hill forts with their encircling ramparts have their counterpart in the middle latitudes of Europe, in the lands once dominated by the Celt, and which cover a period from the Bronze Age, at least, to the days of the Roman occupation. In Ireland their use ranges from prehistoric times down to the Middle Ages; and some were occupied for ordinary dwelling purposes down to modern times.
CHAPTER VII.
THE STONE AGE.
FLINT ARROW-HEADS—STONE CELTS—AXE-HAMMERS.
Primitive man everywhere seems to have used stone, wood, and bone in the manufacture of weapons before he advanced to a knowledge of the use of metal. The terms ‘Stone,’ ‘Bronze,’ and ‘Iron,’ adopted first by Scandinavian archæologists, are now generally used to signify the successive ‘Ages’ of human development from prehistoric into historic times. The vast quantity of stone and bronze objects found in Ireland are conclusive that at certain remote periods they were in general use. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that stone only was at one time used, and that bronze, on account of its superiority, in time superseded the older material. Though each prevailed, and was characteristic of its own period, yet no hard-and-fast line can be drawn between them, and the overlapping occurs everywhere. We have evidence in lake-dwelling remains to show that, after iron was introduced, stone, bronze, and iron implements were used simultaneously. Stone weapons were in use down to the Middle Ages, and stone hammers were used in remote places down to modern times.
The antiquity of man in Ireland has long been a subject of general archæological interest and discussion. He is considered by some authorities to have been contemporary with the cervus giganteus, whose remains have been discovered in such large numbers in the country. These have been found in the crannogs of Cloonfinlough, Loughrea, and in the caves of Ballynamintra. Professor Leith Adams and Messrs. Kinahan and Ussher, in the exploration of the latter, found the bones in connexion with ‘battered and chipped’ hammer-stones, which they had little doubt was the work of man to extract the marrow.[90] They were found mixed with the remains of Neolithic fauna, red-deer, horse, ox, grizzly bear, wolf, badger, fox, dog, etc.
The evidence of the existence of Palæolithic man lies deep in the drifts or raised banks of ancient rivers, or far below the present floors of caves. If he ever existed in Ireland, he has left no conclusive evidence of his presence, so far as our knowledge goes. The relics of Neolithic man lie near the surface, and evidence of his existence has been found throughout the length and breadth of the land. When he started in Ireland, he is supposed to have had a considerable knowledge in the use of stone weapons and skill in their manufacture. In fashioning flint implements, in the selection of the hardest and best kinds of stone, in shaping and polishing these for various uses, he showed an intelligence and skill of no mean order. Finished flint articles have been found in the north of Ireland in thousands; and the refuse of their manufacture exists in large quantities. Few countries equal Ireland in the number of stone implements which have been discovered of every kind, or can show greater excellence in their style and finish.
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Flint Arrow-heads.—Flint as the hardest stone and the readiest to chip was much sought for; and as Antrim furnished this in nodules in the Chalk formation, it was there worked in great quantities. Knives, scrapers, arrow- and spear-heads, chisels and axe-heads were fashioned in many places, especially on the coast where the flint accumulates along the undercliffs, or on the raised beaches of Larne, Kilroot, and Whitepark Bay. In these places hundreds of flakes may be gathered in a short time—the waste material from the workshops of the makers of flint implements that once existed on these sites. At Portstewart and Castlerock, on the coast of Donegal, at Dundrum, Co. Down, and along the Bann valley, great quantities of worked flints have been found, indicating a wide area for the manufacture of weapons.
