Ebook: The Dating of Food Vessels and Urns in Ireland

This is an investigation of the chronology and development of the decorated pottery found in graves of the early bronze age in Ireland. Its purpose is to date the pottery and identify the sequence of development of each type with a view to constructing an absolute chronology for use in further research into this period. The pottery belongs to the Bowl, Vase, and Collared and Cordoned Urn Traditions. The early bronze age is defined by the use of this pottery and dated by radiocarbon to 2220 and 1500 BC.

The basic chronology and the major developments of the early bronze age as reflected by the patterns of associations, developmental sequences and the place of Irish material in the broader insular (Ireland and Britain as a unit) and sometimes continental chronology, have been understood for many decades. But, as many recognise, this approach has not been particularly rewarding in Ireland because of the relatively few hoards, the absence of a rich grave ritual and the dearth of short-term settlements and well-stratified deposits. As a result, rather less is known of the fine chronology of events and their synchronisation, in some cases even agreement about the sequence of particular events. The aim of this study is to contribute to the absolute chronology of the period by combining the results of an extensive narrowly focussed radiocarbon dating project with the refined analysis of the highly decorated grave pottery in order to map its development.