Barry Raftery

Rathgall Hillfort is a site of exceptional importance for Irish archaeology, with its concentration of artifactual evidence unmatched by anywhere else in the country. This publication presents the excavations at Rathgall, Rath East, Co. Wicklow, conducted by Barry Raftery, retired Professor of Celtic Archaeology at University College Dublin. Raftery published aspects of the site, primarily in the 1970s, and was working on a comprehensive account but passed away before he could finalize the publication. The present volume aims to present his work and to integrate it with new data, augmented and expanded in a final phase of post-excavation analysis conducted between 2010 and 2013. Raftery's voice is conserved as much as possible. In places, editorial comments add new information or clarifications. In other sections, his draft text is presented and juxtaposed with the discussion of alternative scenarios that emerged recently. In fact, significant parts of the post-excavation analysis were finalized as part of this last phase of the publication project, including the finalization and integration of site drawings and photographs.

Our established impressions of early Celtic Ireland have come down to us through the great Irish myths and sagas, yet how do these images compare with archaeological evidence? The author seeks to present a comprehensive and lucid account of the Irish Iron Age. He discusses advances that took place in travel and transport; the common people; the local metalsmiths; and the religious beliefs exemplified by standing stones and offerings in lakes and rivers. New material is examined on Ireland's contact with the Roman world and the final chapter reviews whether La Tene culture was spread to Ireland through invasion or diffusion.