THE PREHISTORIC ARCHAEOLOGY OF SLIEVE GAMPH: MOVEMENT, PLACE AND PATTERNS

Noel McCarthy

Figure 1: Prominent boulder at Lugawarry with Knocknarea and Miosgáin Meabh in the background

The role played by features of the natural landscape in the lives of past populations has long been of interest to the archaeological community, increasing over time not only as a result of the swell in archaeological research but also due to the growth in popularity of landscape archaeology. This has led to the general acceptance of the concept of sites as part of the landscape within which they sit, no longer to be seen as individual bastions of a distant past but as elements of an inter-twined system of physical and mental attributes that in concert formed the prehistoric landscape.  It was with this in mind that the current project set out to analyse the prehistoric archaeology of Slieve Gamph (The Ox Mountains) and its hinterland.

Forming one of the major natural features of northwest Ireland, the schist and granite mass that is Slieve Gamph was chosen as the centrepiece of the research project as even cursory examination of site distribution and location in the region raised a number of interesting avenues of enquiry. In the more mountainous areas a significant disparity was noted between the northern reaches of the mountain range and those further south. To the north cairns and passage tombs are a common adornment of upland peaks whereas south along the range this pattern was not replicated. Subsequent fieldwork illustrated that this perceived dearth of upland monuments was not an aberration of discovery or record but a true reflection of the archaeological record as it survives. A number of hypotheses are under consideration to elucidate this occurrence, one of which is the exploration of the possibility that other less acknowledged monument types may occupy positions similar to those utilised by the cairns and passage tombs to the north.

The current project is not confined to the immediate vicinity around Slieve Gamph but incorporates a swathe of north Mayo and west Sligo enveloping topographical regions ranging from upland heath to rolling grassland and low-lying floodplains. Comprehending how people lived in and moved through these differing landscapes is integral to developing an understanding of how the physical and cultural environment was perceived during the prehistoric period. To approach this issue a series of localised case studies have been selected to answer specifically designated research questions as well as to act as point and counter-point for the comparison of different locales around the mountain range.

The overarching goal of the research project has always been to develop an understanding of the perception and effect of large physical entities on the activities of people during the prehistoric period. An additional aspiration is to place the region around Slieve Gamph within its greater regional prehistoric context, thus going some way towards consolidating it with its more illustrious neighbours.

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