Humans arrived in the region now known as Ireland c. 7000-6500 BCE at modern-day Coleraine in the north, establishing communities and gradually moving southwards. Hunter-gatherers eventually adopted an agrarian lifestyle as evidenced by the Ceide Fields dated to c. 3500 BCE. Communal efforts are also suggested by megalithic structures dating to c. 4200 BCE.
The Ceide Fields, in County Mayo, are the oldest known farming fields identified in the world to date, and the Neolithic settlement surrounding them is evidence of a permanent community there. The people used stone tools to build their houses as well as megalithic sites like Poulnabrone (c. 4200 BCE) and Newgrange (c. 3200 BCE). By c. 2000 BCE, metalworking had developed, with copper and bronze replacing stone as base material for tools and weapons.
Gold, also, was used in making jewelry and elaborate shirt, dress, and cloak fasteners. Further contributions to metallurgy were made by the Celts around 500-300 BCE with the introduction of iron. By the time of Saint Patrick (c. 5th century), Irish metallurgists had long been among the finest in the world.
The following gallery presents some of their works along with other artifacts from ancient Ireland and two of the best-known megalithic sites: Poulnabrone and Newgrange.
