William
O'Brien
Contributions to journals
This paper presents the results of an archaeological excavation conducted in 2004–2006 at Clashanimud (Cashel) hillfort, Co. Cork. The site is typical of what Raftery (1972) termed a Class 2a hillfort, comprised here of two concentric, widely-spaced enclosures over an area of 8.9 ha. Excavation revealed important details of the hillfort defences, which are radiocarbon dated to the twelfth century BC. The site history is of particular interest, with massive wooden palisades deliberately destroyed by fire soon after construction. The Clashanimud project is part of a new investigation of Irish hillforts based in University College Cork. This research includes sample excavation and radiocarbon dating of selected Class 2 hillforts across Ireland. The results from Clashanimud are discussed in relation to three similar hillforts elsewhere in Munster. The deliberate destruction of some of these strongholds offers a new insight into the regional wars of the later Bronze Age in Ireland.
This paper presents the results of an archaeological excavation conducted in 2004–2006 at Clashanimud (Cashel) hillfort, Co. Cork. The site is typical of what Raftery (1972) termed a Class 2a hillfort, comprised here of two concentric, widely-spaced enclosures over an area of 8.9 ha. Excavation revealed important details of the hillfort defences, which are radiocarbon dated to the twelfth century BC. The site history is of particular interest, with massive wooden palisades deliberately destroyed by fire soon after construction. The Clashanimud project is part of a new investigation of Irish hillforts based in University College Cork. This research includes sample excavation and radiocarbon dating of selected Class 2 hillforts across Ireland. The results from Clashanimud are discussed in relation to three similar hillforts elsewhere in Munster. The deliberate destruction of some of these strongholds offers a new insight into the regional wars of the later Bronze Age in Ireland.
Contributions to edited collections or authored works
The importance of metal for an understanding of the international Beaker culture is well established, whether as a driver of trade connections and other forms of exchange, or as a material expression of ethnicity, ideology, or social relations. While copper and gold were used in earlier times in Europe, Beaker groups can be associated with a spread of metallurgical knowledge across the Atlantic zone during the later third millennium BC. This chapter will consider long-distance networks of metal production and supply in relation to the mobility of the Beaker culture. The nature of those connections will be explored, whether they involved migration of ethnic groups or the small-scale movement of specialists, their ideas and material culture, through trade and other forms of exchange. The implications for genetic and language origins will be considered, with a focus on connections between Iberia, France, and Ireland in that period.
The importance of metal for an understanding of the international Beaker culture is well established, whether as a driver of trade connections and other forms of exchange, or as a material expression of ethnicity, ideology, or social relations. While copper and gold were used in earlier times in Europe, Beaker groups can be associated with a spread of metallurgical knowledge across the Atlantic zone during the later third millennium BC. This chapter will consider long-distance networks of metal production and supply in relation to the mobility of the Beaker culture. The nature of those connections will be explored, whether they involved migration of ethnic groups or the small-scale movement of specialists, their ideas and material culture, through trade and other forms of exchange. The implications for genetic and language origins will be considered, with a focus on connections between Iberia, France, and Ireland in that period.
