SOCIETY AND SETTLEMENT IN GLENDALOUGH ... - Ian Cantwell

Incbivore valley, which survived until.the 19th century before being mostly dug out forfuel in the pre-famine perioo4 S , which may date from peat formation. The evidencesuggests a turbulent period with the first appearance of hilltop fortifications in WestWicklow, Coolegad and Downsbill 46 being typical in Ireland. No archaeological findsor sites have been found on the Vartry plateau or associated valleys, so the implicationsofsocial change areunknown.The Iron age lull (generally250BC to 250AD) that appears in pollen diagrams is not ingreat evidence in Glendalougb but around 385 BC 47 there was a significant, thoughshort-term, phase ofclearance particularlyofoak, yew, ash and alder which may retlectmore intensive use ofiron technology in clearanceand ploughing. Grasses also increasesharply at this time. However this period was of short duration. Interestingly willowstarts to become significant which may indicate a transition to damper soils whichwould have become increasingly podzolised. Another possible reason is that the lakeedge bad now reached the sample site. An increase in heather may also indicate anincrease ofpeaty podzols on higheraltitudes with poorer soil cover4 8 .SummaryThe above analysis, (Map 2), show that the Glendalough and the Vartry were settledand farmed and were not the inaccessible places that have been presumed on the basisofthe lives ofSt. Kevin which stated that he settled in a previouslyuninhabited disert.The pollen diagram is the first concrete evidence ofsettlement in the region which hasbeen in existence for at least 2,000 years before the foundation of ecclesiasticalsettlement. However there is an interpretative problem in combining the pollen diagramfrom Glendalough and the Archaeology from the Vartry plateau. It may be that theyreflect two different settlement histories and on the basis of present knowledge one4~ lB., Walking in Wicklow, Galway, 1964, p. 784746Stout,. op cit. p. 19& 38BetaAnalytic Radiocarbon Dating Labora1Ory~ No. Beta-122061, 1998,see AppendixI48Stout 0, 0)). cit. p, 419