Visual Studies: Pre-Christian Ireland - Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages

Overview of Visual Studies

• Definition: According to the Department of Education and Skills (DES), Visual Studies is defined as ‘The study of the visual expression of all aspects of culture, created by the past, recent modern and contemporary societies.’ It was previously known as Art History.
• Content Areas: Visual Studies is divided into three primary content areas:
  • Europe and the Wider World.
  • Ireland and Its Place in the Wider World.
  • Today’s World.
• Masterclass Focus: This specific study guide focuses on the area of Ireland and Its Place in the Wider World: Pre-Christian ($4,000\,BCE - 500\,CE$), encompassing:
  • The Stone Age (Mesolithic and Neolithic Eras).
  • The Bronze Age.
  • The Iron Age.

Visual Studies Framework and Marking Scheme

• The Framework: This structured approach is applied to every topic to ensure consistency in learning and analysis:
  • Context: Examines the society and people of the time. This includes religious/spiritual beliefs, and the cultural, political, and historical background. It also considers the influence of previous eras on the current one and its impact on the future.
  • Artists and Artwork (The 5 Ws): Identifying Who the artist/designer/architect was and who commissioned the work; What the artwork is; Where the art was originally found or is located today; and When it was created.
  • Analysis: Focuses on Form, Shape, Function, Decoration, and Technique in production/construction.
  • Art Elements and Design Principles (AEDP):
    • Elements: Line, dot, texture, shape, tone, colour, and pattern.
    • Principles: Balance, tension, contrast, light, scale, space, and harmony.
  • Media and Area of Practice: identifies the materials (Media) used and the discipline (Painting, Sculpture, Print, etc.).
  • Innovation and Invention: Identifying groundbreaking changes or new creations.
• Marking Scheme (Section C - Ireland and Its Place in the Wider World):
  • The section is worth a total of $50$ marks:
    • Coherence and focus: $10$ marks.
    • Subject Knowledge: $20$ marks.
    • Relevant examples: $10$ marks (Specific named examples are required).
    • Visual language: $10$ marks (Terminology and/or labeled sketches; use of AEDP is crucial).

The Stone Age (Pre-Christian Ireland)

• Timeline:
  • Palaeolithic Era (Old Stone Age): $12,500$ years ago.
  • Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age): $8000 - 4000\,BCE$.
  • Neolithic (New Stone Age): $4000\,BCE$ onwards. The arrival in Ireland occurred around $3,700\,BCE$.
  • Etymology: The word Neolithic comes from the Greek Neo (new) and lithos (stone).
• Mesolithic Context ($8000 - 4000\,BCE$):
  • First settlers arrived approx $7,000\,BCE$. They were nomadic hunters and gatherers living near riverbanks, lakes, and coastlines.
  • Housing: Simple animal skins spread over bowl-shaped timber frames.
  • Mount Sandel, Derry: A Mesolithic site discovered and excavated in $1970$, providing evidence of these early settlements.
• Neolithic Context ($4000 - 2500\,BCE$):
  • Farmers arrived in $3,700\,BCE$ from across the Iberian Peninsula.
  • Deforestation: They cleared forests for crops and livestock, leading to the formation of Ireland’s peat bogs, which preserved archaeological material.
  • Society: Permanent housing emerged. Evidence of travel and trade among diverse people exists.
• Innovation and Invention:
  • The complex society left a "stone legacy" of megalithic burial chambers.
  • Showcased immense structural problem-solving and knowledge of astronomy.
  • Stone Age construction created the ‘blueprint’ for future symbolic art and architecture.

Megalithic Tomb Types

• Portal Dolmen:
  • The simplest megalithic burial tomb.
  • Structure: Consists of $3$ to $7$ upright supporting stones (legs) topped with a singular large capstone (monolith).
  • Etymology: Named because the entrance resembles a doorway (Porta is Latin for gate).
  • Example: Poulnabrone Portal Dolmen, Co. Clare, located in the Burren. There are approx $170$ scattered across Ireland.
  • Note: No stone carving or decorative art is found on Portal Dolmens.
• Court Cairn:
  • Structure: Features a chamber with structural walls, a doorway, and a lintel. A unique open courtyard area at the front was used for rituals.
  • Function: Dual purpose of ritual and burial (cremated remains found in chambers).
  • Example: Creevykeel, Co. Sligo. Over $300$ exist, mostly in the west and northwest.
  • Term: Cairn means stone.
• Passage Tombs (Bru na Binne):
  • Concentrated in the River Boyne valley, Co. Meath. This is a UNESCO world heritage site.
  • Major sites: Knowth, Dowth, and Newgrange.
  • There are approximately $200$ passage tombs in Ireland.

Knowth (Bru na Binne)

• Significance: The oldest, largest, and most decorated of the three main tombs in the valley.
• Structure:
  • Two internal passages: one facing east, one facing west.
  • $127$ kerbstones surround the mound.
  • Cruciform chamber with a corbelled vault reaching $7\,m$ in height.
• Finds:
  • Remains: Cremated burials and grave goods (beads, pendants, necklaces, tools).
  • Stone Basin: Decorated with horizontal and concentric lines.
  • The Knowth Macehead: Crafted from Orkney flint (evidence of trade with Scotland), intricately carved, appearing like a face/mouth when held upside down.
• Art on Kerbstones:
  • Kerbstone 15: Features what appears to be a sundial or lunar calendar tracking moon phases.
  • Kerbstone 78: Also thought to track lunar phases.

Newgrange (Bru na Binne)

• History: Built approx $3,200\,BCE$. Excavated and reconstructed ($1967 - 1975$) by Professor Michael O’Kelly.
• Form Analysis:
  • A mound $11\,m$ tall and $80\,m$ in diameter.
  • Surface decorated with white quartz (mined in Wicklow) and granite (Dundalk Bay).
  • Base surrounded by $97$ greywacke kerbstones (transported from Drogheda, Co. Louth).
• The Roof Box:
  • A rectangular opening above the main entrance passage.
  • Captures sunlight on the Winter Solstice ($21^{st}$ December), lighting the inner chamber.
  • The lintel above is decorated with ‘x’ shapes divided by vertical lines.
• The Passage and Chamber:
  • Passage length: $18.7\,m$. Lined by $22$ orthostats (left) and $21$ (right).
  • Chamber: $6\,m$ in diameter and $6\,m$ tall, cruciform shape with three recesses containing basin stones for ashes.
• Construction Techniques:
  • Corbelling: A dry-mortar technique. Stones are stacked in decreasing circles, sloping outward slightly to become self-supporting until closed with a capstone. Grooves were carved into stones for rain drainage.
  • Log Rolling: Used to transport massive megaliths.
• Stone Age Art Motifs (Applied to stones like the Entrance Stone and K52):
  • Curved (5 types): Concentric circles, spirals, arcs, serpentiforms, dots within circles.
  • Straight (5 types): Chevrons (zig-zags), lozenges (diamonds), radials (sun-like), parallel lines, offsets (angled lines).
  • Entrance Stone: Covered in curvilinear patterns; features a triple spiral, double spirals, wave patterns, and lozenges. A central groove aligns with the roof box.
  • K52 (Kerbstone 52): Split by a central groove. Features a double spiral, arcs with cup marks, lozenges with raised outlines, chevrons, and three ovals on the right side.

The Bronze Age (Metalworking and Innovation)

• Timeline:
  • Early Bronze Age: $2,500 - 1,500\,BCE$.
  • Middle (Bishopsland Phase): $1,500 - 1,200\,BCE$.
  • Late (Dowris Phase): $1,200 - 500\,BCE$.
• The Beaker People: Arrived around $2,500\,BCE$ from mainland Europe seeking copper and gold. Named for their burial custom of placing ashes in beaker-shaped pottery within cist graves.
• Metallurgy and Media:
  • Copper: Extracted by heating rock and throwing cold water on it to crack it (roasting). Smelted over charcoal.
  • Bronze: An alloy of Copper and Tin. Stronger than copper, used for elite tools and weapons.
  • Gold: Panned from river deposits (alluvial deposits) using a panning technique to separate heavy gold from light gravel.
• Techniques:
  • Sheeting and hammering gold into thin foil.
  • Casting (pouring molten metal into moulds).
  • Twisting (creating spirals).
  • Repouss: French for ‘to push’; hammering from the back to create a raised relief on the front.
  • Incision: Carving designs into the surface.

Early Bronze Age Artefacts

• Tedavnet Sun Discs (Co. Monaghan):
  • Form: Circular gold discs intended as buttons or fasteners for high-status individuals.
  • Technique: Sheeting, cutting, and repouss.
  • AEDP: Symmetrical pattern with a central cross (non-Christian), surrounded by concentric circles, dots, and zig-zags. Tactile bumpy texture.
• Blessington Lunula:
  • Form: Crescent moon shape (Luna = moon). Made from hammered thin gold foil.
  • Function: Neck ornament worn for rituals.
  • Technique: Sheeting, cutting, and incision. The gold is so thin the design is visible from the back.
  • AEDP: Geometric patterns of triangles, chevrons, and zig-zags create a glimmering surface.

Middle and Late Bronze Age Artefacts

• Ribbon Torcs ($1400\,BCE$ onwards):
  • Form: Twisted flat gold bands forming an even spiral. Terminals often have knobs for locking.
  • Technique: Made from a singular piece of gold or a rectangular bar hammered into a flange (three-sided) and twisted.
  • Function: Neck ornaments denoting status.
• Derrinaboy Armlets (Middle Bronze Age):
  • Form: Cylindrical bands found in Co. Offaly in $1959$.
  • Technique: Repouss used to create ‘rib and rope moulding’ (alternating smooth bands and ridged ropes).
• Glenisheen Gorget (Late Bronze Age - Dowris Phase):
  • Form: U-shaped collar with two terminal discs. Found in the Burren in $1932$.
  • Technique: Multi-part assembly. Discs consist of two layers attached to the collar with gold wire. Uses repouss and fine beading.
  • AEDP: Six areas of rope pattern. Discs feature concentric circles and smooth cones.
• Clones Fibula (Co. Monaghan):
  • Form: A large $1\,kg$ gold bow terminal with cup-shaped ends.
  • Technique: Bow was cast; terminal cups were hammered. Decoration was incised freehand.
  • AEDP: Irregular pattern of incised concentric circles with central indents and raised ridges on the cup edges.

The Late Bronze Age and Social Change

• Technological Advancement: Arrival of the wheel in Ireland ($1200\,BCE$). Leads to the first roadways (e.g., at Togher).
• Environmental Change: Massive deforestation for agriculture.
• Hoards: The Dowris phase ($1200 - 500\,BCE$) is known as the Golden Era, with large hoards of gold objects discovered near the River Shannon.
• Social Structure: Movement toward enclosed settlements and hillforts (e.g., Navan Fort/Eamain Macha, Tara) indicates a preoccupation with defense.
• Fulachta fiadh: Cooking sites common to this period.

The Iron Age (Arrival of the Celts)

• Timeline: Began in Ireland approx $500\,BCE$.
• The Celts (Keltoi):
  • Warlike people renowned as warriors, horsemen, and craftworkers.
  • Social hierarchy based on cattle ownership.
  • Ironmongers: Blacksmiths held status similar to physicians and were thought to have magical powers.
• Metalworking Media:
  • Iron: Readily available as bog iron. Not cast; heated and hammered (forged) to remove impurities.
  • Bronze: Produced via the ‘Lost Wax’ method (wax form covered in clay, wax melted, molten bronze poured in).
  • Gold: Used for high-value items using sheeting, cutting, and chasing (pushing metal back so design appears in relief).

Iron Age Art and the La Tne Style

• Style Description: Curvilinear, representational, and stylised. Unlike the geometric Stone/Bronze eras, Iron Age art is the first to be representational in Ireland.
• La Tne Motifs: Leafy palmate forms, vines, tendrils, lotus flowers, spirals, scrolls, lyre, and trumpet shapes.
• Insular La Tne: The specific Irish modification of the European La Tne style.
• Influences: Greek, Etruscan, and Germanic influences through travel and trade.
• New Materials: Enamel (colored glass-like material fused to metal via heat).
• Distinctive Designs:
  • Triskele: Three curved limbs springing from one point turning in the same direction.
  • Pelta: A crescent-like shape.

Iron Age Architecture and Forts

• Promontory Forts: Multi-purpose structures for protection and domestic use.
• Dun Aonghasa (Dun Aengus):
  • Location: Perched atop Inis Mr in the Aran Islands, Co. Galway.
  • Form: Three distinct walls. Inner wall is $5\,m$ tall and $6\,m$ thick with internal stairs. Outer defense includes a chevaux-de-frise (jagged stones).
  • Technique: Built using uncut stone and dry mortar. Wider base at the bottom for stability.
• Staigue Fort: Another major visible Iron Age fort.

Iron Age Stone Carving and Sculpture

• The Turoe Stone (Co. Galway):
  • Form: A $4$-tonne granite boulder, $1.68\,m$ in height.
  • Technique: Carved in low relief ($3\,mm$ depth) using iron chisels.
  • Decoration: Divided into four sections of Insular La Tne style. Features leaf/vine shapes, trumpet ends, spirals, and a triskele. The base has a brick pattern for balance.
• The Tandragee Idol (Co. Armagh):
  • Details: Height $60\,cm$. Grotesque granite figure with a vulgar mouth, pierced nostrils, and stumps of a horned helmet.
  • Context: Represents a ritualistic pose; possibly the chieftain Nuadha of the Silver Arm from the Tuatha D Danann.

Iron Age Metalwork and the Broighter Hoard

• The Broighter Hoard: Discovered in $1896$ by farmers in Co. Derry. Includes:
  • Model Gold Boat: Symbolizing travel/trade; associated with sea god Manannn Mac Lir.
  • Gold Bowl, chains, and twisted bracelets.
  • The Broighter Collar:
    • Form: Two tubes of sheet gold joined by buffer terminals.
    • Technique: Chasing used for the foliage pattern. Tubes were filled with mastic/resin (hot wax) to prevent crushing while being curved. Terminals are riveted and beaded.
    • AEDP: Symmetrical ‘S’ scrolls and spiral bosses. Background incised with compass arcs creates a luminescent effect.
• Loughnashade Trumpet (Co. Antrim):
  • Form: Bronze trumpet with two tubes joined by a knob.
  • Technique: Tubes riveted to an internal bronze strip. Open end plate decorated using repouss.
  • AEDP: Four-part pattern based on the Roman pelta and vine scrolls.

Late Iron Age and Ultimate La Tne Style

• The Petrie Crown:
  • Form: Openwork band with a tapering cylinder (cone) and concave discs attached.
  • Technique: Sheet bronze. Bird heads (zoomorphic design) are the earliest examples in Ireland. Disc pattern combines triskele and trumpet curves.
  • Media: Features red enamel beads in the center of the bosses.
• Evolution (Ultimate La Tne): Designs became lighter, more symmetrical, and more geometric toward the end of the Iron Age (transitioning into the Christian era).