Aspects of the Bronze Age in the Atlantic Archipelago and Beyond: Proceedings from the Belfast Bronze Age Forum, 9–10 November 2013

Aspects of the Bronze Age in the Atlantic Archipelago and Beyond presents twenty-one contributions, mostly originating from the Belfast Bronze Age Forum of 2013, supplemented with new research to create an unusually coherent collection of peer-reviewed studies. Far more than typical conference proceedings, this volume offers a benchmark exploration of the Bronze Age in Ireland, Britain, and its wider European context. Organised into three thematic sections—Concepts, Chronologies and Connections; Mining, Metalworking and Artefact Studies; and Landscape, Settlement and Rock Art—the book traces the threads of technology, exchange, and identity that ran throughout Atlantic Europe. In the introductory contribution, the editor revisits the influential notion of the ‘Atlantic Bronze Age’, charting how this concept evolved and morphed over time, while also questioning models such as the ‘Celtic from the West’ hypothesis. Other contributions highlight the significance of local dynamics within this broader zone: the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man, and Ireland’s western reaches emerge as striking case studies of communities negotiating contact, isolation, and innovation. The volume also showcases cutting-edge archaeological science, from tracing copper sources at the Great Orme and at Derrycarhoon, to analyses of cauldrons, razors, halberds and sword moulds, revealing both technological sophistication and ritual dimensions of material culture. Papers on hillforts, burnt mounds, and reused rock art further illuminate places of gathering, memory, and transformation in the Bronze Age landscape. Praised by one of its reviewers as ‘a vital reference point for Atlantic Bronze Age studies’, this volume combines breadth with depth, presenting fresh discoveries alongside critical reflections on old debates. Reissued here in a new edition, it remains indispensable for students, researchers, and anyone interested in the social and cultural worlds of Bronze Age Europe.

Table of Contents:
Concepts, Chronologies and Connections Dirk Brandherm – Almost lost between the lines: the concept of the Atlantic Bronze Age Sabine Gerloff and Brendan O’Connor – A scheme for the British Bronze Age by C.F.C. Hawkes Katharine Sawyer – Dating the entrance graves and cists of the Isles of Scilly Rachel J. Crellin – The emergence of a Bronze Age on the Isle of Man Alice Rogers – One foot in sea, and one on shore: movement along the British North Sea coastline in the Early Bronze Age Catriona Gibson, Peter Bray, Kerri Cleary, Fernando Fernández Palacios and John T. Koch – Mapping the flow: introduction to Atlantic Europe and the Metal Ages project   Mining, Metalworking and Artefact Studies Simon Timberlake and Peter Marshall – The Bronze Age mines dating project and some new ideas on ore extraction and smelting William O’Brien – Derrycarhoon mine and the supply of copper in later Bronze Age Ireland R. Alan Williams – Linking ore to metal: characterizing the ores and tracing the metal from the Great Orme Bronze Age copper mine in north Wales Andrew P. Fitzpatrick – Mining, making, and stone tools: the earliest metal objects in Britain and Ireland Linda Boutoille – Cushion stones and company: British and Irish finds of stone metalworking implements from the Bell Beaker period to the Late Bronze Age Tobias Mörtz – Once unburied, yet unfound: a survey of the moulds for casting swords in Late Bronze Age Britain Katharine Leonard – Commensality and casting: a discussion of Irish Late Bronze Age cauldrons David Bell – Bronze Age halberds: use-wear and functionality David Mullin – Return to the source: the use of stone in pottery in later Bronze Age Britain Ros Ó Maoldúin – Well shaved travellers: Irish and Scottish Early Bronze Age razors Oliver Dietrich and Tobias Mörtz – Sockets full of scrap? Remarks on deliberate fragmentation in Late Bronze Age metal deposits in south-eastern and north-western Europe   Landscape, Settlement and Rock Art James O’Driscoll – The Baltinglass hillfort cluster in the context of the Irish hillfort phenomenon: an initial view Alan Hawkes – The re-use of prehistoric burnt mounds in Ireland: the importance of social memory, identity and place Rebecca Aroon Enlander – Chronologies and connections: exploring the re-use of rock art and geological choice in Bronze Age Ireland Martin Rundkvist – Bronze Age landscape rules of deposition around Lakes Mälaren and Hjälmaren, Sweden   Indices and Appendices Index of place names (in alphabetical order) Index of place names (by country) List of contributors 2013 Bronze Age Forum programme

About the Author :
Dirk Brandherm is Reader in Prehistory at Queen’s University Belfast and current President of the UISPP’s Metal Ages commission. His research interests are primarily concerned with exploring the dynamics of societal change in later prehistory, particularly in the Chalcolithic and in the Bronze and Iron Ages of Western Europe and the Mediterranean.