IntroductionOver 90 structures have been identified as probable houses dating to the Neolithic period in Ireland (Grogan 2996; Cooney 1999; FIGURE 1; TABLES 1- 3). While there is a considerable variation in size and form two principal types are discernible, the large rectangular buildings of the Early Neolithic and circular or oval structures that have a much wider chronological span. In the past some of these have been readily accepted as houses while other, generally more ephemeral, structures havc occasionally been classified as having more temporary or specialist functions
This paper starts by outlining the history of stone axe studies in Ireland, from their antiquarian beginnings to 1990. It then offers a critical review of the current state of knowledge concerning the numbers, distribution, findspot contexts, morphology, size, associated finds, dating and raw materials of stone axes. Having proposed an agenda for future research, the paper ends by introducing the Irish Stone Axe Project—the major programme of database creation and petrological identification, funded by the National Heritage Council, currently being undertaken by GC and EG.
Stone axes are numerous in Ireland, where there are important porcellanite sources in the northeast. Now there is a first clear idea of just how many Irish axes there are and what their pattern of distribution is
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