No abstract

This report discusses a surface collection of late Mesolithic date from Corralanna, Co. Westmeath. The site, which was discovered after peat extraction in 1999, is characterised by a lithic assemblage comprised almost exclusively of chert, two axes, some coarse stone tools and a small range of organic finds including uncarbonised hazelnut shells. This discussion reviews the material from Corralanna, with an especial emphasis on the character of the chipped stone assemblage, placing the site in its appropriate landscape and archaeological contexts. Three radiocarbon dates from hazelnut shells were obtained. These are not demonstrably associated with the lithics, but the dates are in keeping with late Mesolithic stone tool technology. Although the assemblage is derived from a surface collection, and suffers from some of the problems associated with this, the site at Corralanna offers a significant contribution to our understanding of Mesolithic settlement in the midlands, an area rich in Mesolithic archaeology, but one that has been somewhat neglected until recently. The creation of this report was facilitated by a Heritage Council Unpublished Excavations Grant.

A lithic assemblage is described from numerous localities on the shores of Lough Allen, part of the River Shannon system in Ireland. By macroscopic and microscopic comparison with locally collected rock, the vast majority of the 869 artefacts are determined to be worked from a type of silicified dolomite*a finegrained rock type with nearly isotropic fracture properties not previously recognised amongst Irish prehistoric lithic assemblages. The geological distribution of this type of silicified dolomite is restricted to Lough Allen and the upland and lowland areas west, north and east of the lake shore. It is demonstrated through typo-technological analysis that the vast majority of the artefacts are from the Later Mesolithic, forming the second largest Mesolithic surface collection, after Lough Gara, in the west of Ireland. The collection includes a small number of axe roughouts, the first to be recorded in a lakeside setting in Ireland. The analysis provides firm evidence for extensive Later Mesolithic activity in the Lough Allen area based mostly on locally available material. 14 C dating of an in situ oak trunk from the lake shore is also presented and indicates lake levels lower than those of today during the Bronze Age, which together with the distribution of lithics suggests that a broader lake shore may have been exposed during the Later Mesolithic.

A lithic assemblage is described from numerous localities on the shores of Lough Allen, part of the River Shannon system in Ireland. By macroscopic and microscopic comparison with locally collected rock, the vast majority of the 869 artefacts are determined to be worked from a type of silicified dolomite*a finegrained rock type with nearly isotropic fracture properties not previously recognised amongst Irish prehistoric lithic assemblages. The geological distribution of this type of silicified dolomite is restricted to Lough Allen and the upland and lowland areas west, north and east of the lake shore. It is demonstrated through typo-technological analysis that the vast majority of the artefacts are from the Later Mesolithic, forming the second largest Mesolithic surface collection, after Lough Gara, in the west of Ireland. The collection includes a small number of axe roughouts, the first to be recorded in a lakeside setting in Ireland. The analysis provides firm evidence for extensive Later Mesolithic activity in the Lough Allen area based mostly on locally available material. 14 C dating of an in situ oak trunk from the lake shore is also presented and indicates lake levels lower than those of today during the Bronze Age, which together with the distribution of lithics suggests that a broader lake shore may have been exposed during the Later Mesolithic.