Newbie with a question

Rubecula

Hiya folks, I don't usually pop into the Archaeology forum. (Not through lack of interest, but because I have very little to contribute.) Although I do sometimes read the threads as a "guest".

Anyway, near to where I live (and work) is a small lake, in this lake were found some ancient relics. I think they are currently on display somewhere.

The question I wanted to ask, was the ancient Druidic culture of Ireland part of the Druidic culture of Wales/ England/ Scotland? Or was the Irish sea a sort of boundary that kept these cultures apart as in different. (I think they tended to raid one another a bit, but I am unsure on whether it was natural or whether they were actually opposed to each other)

Were they divided by religeous differences? Or was it just tribal?

I know very little about the ancient Druids, and I am not sure anyone knows a great deal apart from legends and such. But I was reading about how the Romans pushed the ancient Brits westward into Wales, and were a bit scared of them until they finally conquered Anglesey. It made me think that if they had to face Ireland, a country as big again, and they didn't get to conquer Scotland then the ancient peoples may have had a lot in common with each other, and even the Roman empire was a bit wary of such a combine.

slowburner

Rubecula wrote: »

Hiya folks, I don't usually pop into the Archaeology forum. (Not through lack of interest, but because I have very little to contribute.) Although I do sometimes read the threads as a "guest".

Anyway, near to where I live (and work) is a small lake, in this lake were found some ancient relics. I think they are currently on display somewhere.

The question I wanted to ask, was the ancient Druidic culture of Ireland part of the Druidic culture of Wales/ England/ Scotland? Or was the Irish sea a sort of boundary that kept these cultures apart as in different. (I think they tended to raid one another a bit, but I am unsure on whether it was natural or whether they were actually opposed to each other)

Were they divided by religeous differences? Or was it just tribal?

I know very little about the ancient Druids, and I am not sure anyone knows a great deal apart from legends and such. But I was reading about how the Romans pushed the ancient Brits westward into Wales, and were a bit scared of them until they finally conquered Anglesey. It made me think that if they had to face Ireland, a country as big again, and they didn't get to conquer Scotland then the ancient peoples may have had a lot in common with each other, and even the Roman empire was a bit wary of such a combine.

From an archaeological point of view, little is known with absolute certainty about the druids.
Not one burial has been excavated in Ireland, where it can be stated with confidence, that this was the interment of a druid.
Druidic practices involved reverence for trees and many of their prized artefacts were made of wood (notably Yew, in Ireland and Oak in England & Wales) and it would take very special conditions for wooden artefacts to survive.
Most of what we do know about the druids in Ireland is the product of secondary sources, mostly early medieval Christian writers. The druids never committed anything in writing.
Roman sources on druids in Britain are probably more reliable: however, Julius Caesar believed that druidism originated in Britain - not a view that would be widely accepted today.
By and large, all these sources need to be treated with considerable caution, for the simple reason that often these writers saw druids as the old enemy, and it becomes difficult to separate fact from propaganda.

There were differences between the practices of druids in Wales/England and Ireland/Scotland (belief in immortality, mechanisms of reincarnation, reverence for specific woods, human sacrifice), and of course, they persisted for a much longer period in Ireland.
They persisted well into the early Christian period in Ireland - some say they survived up to the C.12th.
As the Roman empire declined and transitioned into the Christian hierarchy, so too might the druids have metamorphosed into the bards of Gaelic Ireland.

Without doubt, the persistence of the druids in Ireland was a direct consequence of the lack of Roman occupation.
There are a multitude of threads on the Romans in Ireland, here are some of the better ones

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=74029218

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=68114399

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=53123603



Two authors worth reading are Barry Cunliffe and Miranda Aldhouse-Green

Rubecula

That is a great reply it covers everything I was wondering about. I thank you kindly.