Bronze Ager, Ireland, tin, bronze, gold, archaeometallurgy
This paper examines archaeological and metallurgical evidence for the introduction of tin-bronze to Ireland c.2100–1800 BC. The rapid adoption of the new technology is indicated by a wide circulation of bronze objects from c.2000 BC, mainly axeheads, daggers and halberds. The new metal combined with an established use of arsenicated copper, obtained in large amounts from Ross Island mine during the Chalcolithic/earliest Bronze Age, c.2400–1900/1800 BC. The supply of that copper into Britain eventually brought Irish metalworkers into contact with the use of bronze, probably early in the 21st century BC. Copper from Ross Island continued to be produced and recycled into the early centuries of bronze use, with examples here of alloying practice involving ingots, axe-ingots, unfinished and finished axeheads. The chronology and cultural background of this first use of bronze is examined through hoard and grave associations, with relevant radiocarbon and ceramic dating evidence. The sourcing of tin is considered in terms of supply within and outside of Ireland. Of particular relevance is an interest in gold in the insular Beaker culture, which led to the prospecting of streams in south-west England, c.2200–2000 BC and the discovery of major deposits of alluvial tin. Contacts with Cornwall and north-west France were central to the supply of tin and gold to Ireland in that period.