Publication of a new book by Dr James O'Driscoll

A new book by lead-author Dr. James O’Driscoll from the Archaeology Subject here in the University of Glasgow unravels the complex history of an incredible prehistoric landscape in Eastern Ireland. The Baltinglass area in southwest Wicklow, Ireland, is renowned for its dense concentration of hilltop enclosures, earning it the nickname "Ireland’s Hillfort Capital”. Over the past decade, a program of survey and excavation has uncovered the remarkable complexity and significance of this landscape throughout the Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. Thirteen massive hilltop enclosures are now known to exist, which include three large Early Neolithic enclosures, the earliest and largest dated hillforts in Ireland, and one of the largest archaeological monuments in the country which may correspond the royal site of Dun Bolg mentioned in early medieval tests and sagas. These are set within a palimpsest of other important sites such as cursus monuments, stone circles and burials.

This book presents the results of the first stage of the project, which combined remote sensing and GIS analysis with conventional archaeological survey and excavation to examine these sites in their cultural landscape setting, along with a palaeoecological study undertaken at a small bog near Baltinglass. The results show Baltinglass as an exceptionally important region for understanding the spread of Early Neolithic farming practices along with the rituals and ceremonies of these developing communities; the introduction of a more hierarchical elite and their hilltop fortifications in the Bronze Age; and the creation of Late Iron Age/early medieval royal centres.