The site of Dún Ailinne is one of four major ritual sites from the Irish
Iron Age, each said to form the center of a political kingdom and thus
described as royal. Excavation has produced artifacts ranging from the
Neolithic (about 5,000 years ago) through the later Iron Age (fourth
century CE), when the site was the focus of repeated rituals, probably
related to the creation and maintenance of political hegemony. A series
of timber structures were built and replaced as each group of leaders
sought to claim ancient descent from a deep past and still create
something unique and lasting.
Pam J. Crabtree and Ronald Hicks provide analyses on, respectively,
biological remains and Dún Ailinne's role in folklore, myth, and the
sacred landscape, while Katherine Moreau examines bronze and iron
artifacts and Elizabeth Hamilton, slag.
Content of this book's CD-ROM may be found online at this location:
http: //core.tdar.org/project/376584.
University Museum Monograph, 129