Introducing LIR (Lithotheque Ireland), a reference collection of flaked stone tool raw materials from Ireland
Keywords:
archaeology, chert, database, geology, Ireland, lithics, lithotheque, provenancing, raw materials
Abstract
The LIR (Lithotheque Ireland) reference collection of flaked stone tool raw materials from Ireland began in 2013, and is based on the geological prospection from two projects. The first (2013-2015) focused attention primarily on Carboniferous cherts from the northwest of Ireland, collecting 405 samples. The second (2015-2017) is currently collecting samples of the Cretaceous flint primarily from in situ contexts in the northeast of Ireland, but also includes beach surveys of Cretaceous flint from around the island; the first phase of geological prospection in Autumn 2015 collected 239 samples, with the geological prospection continuing in 2016. Therefore, to date the collection contains over 600 hand samples of chert and flint, along with a small number of other materials (siliceous limestone, tuff, mudstone). The physical reference collection is housed at the UCD School of Archaeology, University College Dublin and contains the geological hand samples along with the various thin sections of the samples that are used for petrographic analysis. The physical collection is complemented by an online database that is to be used alongside the physical collection, or can be used as a stand-alone resource. This paper provides an overview of the database’s metadata and the processes of data entry and editing, to serve as a reference point for the database and the fieldwork undertaken to date, and to serve as a template for other researchers undertaking similar work on lithic reference collections.
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Burke, A.L. 2016, Lithic collection: Centre de Référence Lithique du Québec (CRLQ). Retrieved 17/02/2016. URL: http://www.avataq.qc.ca/en/Institute/Departments/Archaeology/Online-Resources/Collections/crlq
Costa, L.-J. & Sternke, F. 2009, One problem – many solutions: Strategies of lithic raw material procurement in Mesolithic Europe. In: Mesolithic horizons: papers presented at the Seventh International Conference on the Mesolithic in Europe, Belfast 2005 (McCartan, S., Schulting, R., Warren, G.M. & Woodman, P.C., Eds.), Oxbow Books, Oxford: p. 795-801.
Driscoll, K. 2009, 'They wrought almost any material that came in their way': Mesolithic Flint Alternatives in the West of Ireland. Internet Archaeology, 26. doi:10.11141/ia.26.11
Driscoll, K. 2010, Lithics report for Rathlackan court tomb excavations (E580), Co. Mayo. (Report). Lithics Ireland Consultancy, Galway. 64 p.; Date: 2010.
Driscoll, K. 2011, Vein quartz in lithic traditions: an analysis based on experimental archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Science, 38(3): 734-745. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.10.027
Driscoll, K. 2016a, LIR - Lithotheque Ireland. LIR - Lithotheque Ireland. Retrieved 25/05/2016. URL: http://www.lithicsireland.ie/lir.html
Driscoll, K. 2016b, LIR – Surveypoint Master. LIR - Lithotheque Ireland. Retrieved 25 May 2016. URL: http://www.lithicsireland.ie/lir-surveypoint-master.php
Driscoll, K. & Menuge, J. 2011, Recognising burnt vein quartz artefacts in archaeological assemblages. Journal of Archaeological Science, 38(9): 2251-2260. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.028
Driscoll, K., Menuge, J. & O'Keeffe, E. 2014, New materials, traditional practices: a Mesolithic silicified dolomite toolkit from Lough Allen, Ireland. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section C, 114: 1-34. doi:10.3318/priac.2014.114.06
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GSI 2006b, 1:100,000 Bedrock Geology Series. Geological Survey of Ireland. Retrieved 14/02/2016. URL: https://www.gsi.ie/Mapping.htm
GSNI 2015, GSNI Digital Geological Map of Northern Ireland - 10k. Retrieved 14/02/2016. URL: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/gsni-digital-geological-map-of-northern-ireland-10k-digmapni-10-metadata
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Towns in Ireland, 2016, Townlands in Ireland. Retrieved 19/02/2016. URL: http://www.townlands.ie/
Kador, T. 2007, Where are we going? Movement and Mobility in Mesolithic Research. Internet Archaeology, 22. doi:10.11141/ia.22.2
Little, A. 2009, The Island and the Hill. Extracting scales of sociability from a Mesolithic chert quarry. In: From Bann Flakes to Bushmills: Papers in honour of Professor Peter Woodman (Finlay, N., McCartan, S., Milner, N. & Wickham-Jones, C.J., Eds.), Prehistoric Society Research Paper Vol. 1, Oxbow, Oxford: p. 133-142.
Little, A. 2010, Tasks, temporalities and textures. Reconstructing the social topography of an Irish Mesolithic lakescape. PhD Thesis at the UCD School of Archaeology, University College Dublin. 256 p.
Luedtke, B.E. 1992, An archaeologist's guide to chert and flint. Archaeological Research Tools Vol. 7. Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles. 172 p.
MacAlister, R.A.S. 1949, The Archaeology of Ireland (2nd ed.). Methuen, London. 386 p.
Mangado, X. 2016, LithicUB - Litoteca. Retrieved 17/02/2016. URL: http://www.lithicub.net/
Movius, H.L. 1942, The Irish Stone Age. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 378 p.
Ó Ríordáin, A.B. 1967, A Prehistoric Burial Site at Gortnacargy, Co. Cavan. The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 97: 61-73. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25509636
OSM 2016, OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 14/02/2016. URL: https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright
PostgreSQL (2015). PostgreSQL (9.6): The world's most advanced open source database. URL: https://www.postgresql.org/
QGIS (2014). QGIS (2.6). URL: http://www.qgis.org/
Simms, M.J. 2000, The sub-basaltic surface in northeast Ireland and its significance for interpreting the Tertiary history of the region. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 111(4): 321-336. doi:10.1016/S0016-7878(00)80088-7
Warren, G.M., Little, A. & Stanley, M. 2009, A late Mesolithic lithic scatter from Corralanna, Co. Westmeath, and its place in the Mesolithic landscape of the Irish Midlands. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section C, 109: 1-35. doi:10.3318/PRIAC.2009.109.1
Waters, C.N., Somerville, I.D., Jones, N.S., Cleal, C.J., Collinson, J.D., Waters, R.A., Besly, B.M., Dean, M.T., Stephenson, M.H., Davies, J.R., Freshney, E.C., Jackson, D.I., Mitchell, W.I., Powell, J.H., Barclay, W.J., Browne, M.A.E., Leveridge, B.E., Long, S.L. & McLean, D. 2011, A revised correlation of Carboniferous rocks in the British Isles. Geological Society of London Special Report. Vol. 26. Geological Society of London, Bath. 186 p.
Woodman, P.C., Finlay, N. & Anderson, E. 2006, The archaeology of a collection: The Keiller-Knowles collection of the National Museum of Ireland. Wordwell, Bray. 382 p.
Published
15-Sep-2016
How to Cite
Driscoll, K., Burke, A., & Warren, G. (2016). Introducing LIR (Lithotheque Ireland), a reference collection of flaked stone tool raw materials from Ireland. Journal of Lithic Studies, 3(2), 231-251. https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.v3i2.1444
Issue
Section
ISKM 2015 - Barcelona - Research Articles
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