Lambay lithics: the analysis of two surface collections from Lambay, Co. Dublin

Abstract

Two collections of unsystematically surface-collected lithics from the island of Lambay, Co. Dublin, were analysed using an integrated methodology focused on a Geographical Information System-based approach, incorporating a number of analytical perspectives. Analysis and mapping of this material provides an important new perspective on prehistoric human activity on the island. Assessment of the diagnostic artefacts demonstrated the presence of human activity during the Later Mesolithic and it seems very likely that people were present on Lambay from the Early Mesolithic. There were a number of signifi cant individual assemblages and two of these are discussed in detail. Widespread activity across the island has also been revealed as well as the persistent use of key locales over long periods. The study provides an important complement to the results of the excavation at the Neolithic axe-quarry site on the island at the Eagle’s Nest as well as a consideration of Lambay’s context and long-distance contacts in the wider Irish Sea region.