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BEDROCKS ANDBULLAUNS: more thanone use for a mortar?Brian Dolan wonders whether complacencyhas affectedtheinterpretation of bullauns.

IntroductionBullaun stones are one of those classic Irisharchaeological monuments that everyoneknows about, many have seen, but few havereally thought about in any serious way,largely because of their seemingly enigmaticfunction. They are basically scoops orhollows in large stones, typically lackingany fillor context thatmight betray theirfunctions.

My interest in the role?or multipleroles?of bullauns in the past was piqued

when reading a recent article in ArchaeologyIreland (Autumn2008) byMatt Kelleher andCaimin O'Brien which discussed some stonebasins, cut intobedrock underlying peat inMeelaghan, Co. Offaly, that look verysimilar to stone mortars used for grindinggrain in a number of Native Americancultures. The authors suggested that thesefeatures do not fit into the traditionalunderstanding of bullauns as 'a singledepression found in association with anecclesiastical site' and should be classifiedseparately as 'bedrock mortars', implying ause in food production.

What struck me, however, was howsimilar these stones also are to mortars forgrinding iron ores that I have seen in thearchaeological literature. The idea ofbullaun stones being used for the crushingof metallic ores is not new but it has beenoverlooked by Irish archaeologists in favourof interpretations focusing on theprocessing of grains, nuts and seeds or onreligious/ritual explanations. Furtherresearch made clear that associations withearly metalworking may be significant for atleast a subset of bullaun stones and, moreimportantly, that this could be testedthrough both excavation and survey.Previous researchThe seemingly intractable nature of bullaunstones has meant that few have thought tostudy them, let alone define orsystematically analyse them. Hypothesesregarding their function have changed littlesince theywere first dentified in the latenineteenth century, and the last majorarticleon the topic, published by Liam Priceexactly 50 years ago, still awaits an update(although significant work has been carriedout recently by David McGuinness as part ofa doctoral project in UCD). There is ageneral acceptance, based on their

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BULLAUNS

Opposite page: Bullaun stone fromGlendalough, Co. Wicklow (photo: TerryO'Hagan).

Right: Conical ore-crushing hollows fromMugharet alWarda, Jordan (photo: Yosha AlAmri).

consistent association with earlyecclesiastical sites, that the stones date fromthe early medieval period, but problems ofdefinition, classification and dating stillremain.

Possibly the most crucial issue in thestudy of bullaun stones has been theunverifiable nature of the most populartheories about their use. This is due to a lackof relevant historical sources and theephemeral nature of many of the activitiesthat have been associated with them. Owingto this lack of evidence, interpretations ofbullaun stones have relied heavily onfolklore as well as ethnographic andhistorical analogy.

The use of 'knocking stones' in Scotlandand Ulster in the early modern period forpounding barley and oats, combined withethnographic and historical examples ofsimilar stone-cut basins from across the

world being used for food production, haveprovided the best argument for bullaunstones having a similar use in Ireland.

Peter Harbison has convincingly linkedsome bullaun stones in the Dingle Peninsulawith pilgrimage as part of a package ofremains associated with early pilgrim routes.The association of many bullaun stoneswith ecclesiastical sites certainly appears topoint to some form of religious context fortheir use, but evidence of metalworking on

many church sites, such as Clonfad, Co.Westmeath, or Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly,may point to an underlying industrial causefor the association. This might also explainthe occurrence of bullauns in isolatedlocations and in association with secularsites. Other interpretations of the bullaunsas cursing stones, as having curativeassociations or as baptismal fonts have beenbased on a mixture of conjecture andfolklore. Little or no direct evidence for theiruse, or indeed their date, has been found,and this has forced a reliance on analogyand speculation.

Bullauns and metallurgyVery little is known about the extraction orprocessing of metallic ores in early medievalIreland. It is clear, both from thearchaeological evidence and the texts, that avariety of metals, particularly iron andcopper, were mined, processed and smeltedon a fairly regular basis. No mines from theperiod have been identifiedarchaeologicallybut they are mentioned in the law-tracts.Ore, once extracted, is usually processed, i.e.broken up into smaller pieces, sorted and,depending on the ore, roasted prior tosmelting.A verse in theDindsenchas ofAlienCobthaig specificallymentions the crushingof ore by the Sil mBuinne of Bantryafter itwas quarried; unfortunately it is not clear

whether this took place at the site ofextraction or elsewhere.

The crushing and sorting of ore, termedbeneficiation, isnecessary in almost all casesprior to smelting. Methods of crushing varyfrom the use of simple stone hammers tothe rolling of heavy boulders over ore spreadon a flat rock. Two methods known fromIndia result in stone basins or depressionsvery similar to those classified as bullaunstones in Ireland. Crushing ore on flatboulders or rock outcrops using hand-heldhammers or pestles produces a shallowdepression which, upon reaching a depth ofc. 10cm, begins to abrade fingertips as wellas ore, resulting in stones with multiple

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