Wakeman's Handbook of Irish Antiquities
9781465676610
213 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
It was not without hesitation that I undertook, at the request of the proprietors and publishers, the task of revising the previous edition of this work. To enter upon the wide field of Irish archæology I thought no easy task; but it was all the more difficult, to my mind, from a sense of the qualifications required for revising the work of one who was an acknowledged authority on the subject. Every student of Irish archæology is well aware of the extent of the valuable contributions, by pen and pencil, of the late Mr. W. F. Wakeman to our knowledge of that subject, to the study of which he devoted the whole of his long life. That his ‘Handbook’ so quickly grew out of date, and that a revision was thus rendered necessary, is due, partly to the results of the stimulus given to the students of the present generation by the school of archæology to which he belonged; but more especially to the work of British and European archæologists, and the general application of the comparative method of treatment to the whole field of archæological science. I found on entering on the work of revision that the book required much in the way of recension, but still more in the way of addition. While adhering to the general plan and spirit of the book, and retaining as much as possible of Mr. Wakeman’s work, I have made changes in the arrangement which I thought advisable, and enlarged the scope of the book, so that, as far as possible, it might cover the whole of Ireland. The greater portion of the book has, in consequence, been largely re-written and expanded throughout; and the chapters on Burial Customs and Ogam Stones, Stone Forts, Lake-dwellings, Stone and Bronze Ages, Early Christian Art, are practically new. I have tried, as far as the limits of such a work would permit, to bring the book into line with recent research at home and abroad. The chapter on Raths and Stone Forts was written before the publication of Mr. T. J. Westropp’s valuable work on the Ancient Forts of Ireland; and it was satisfactory to me to find that in such general conclusions as, in the present stage of our knowledge, it is possible to arrive at, I was substantially in agreement with him. It has been too much the custom in the past to look upon Ireland as being especially favoured with a wealth of antiquities, Pagan and Christian, more or less indigenous to the soil, and independent of the successive waves of influences sweeping from the Mediterranean littoral, and from Central Europe, ever westward and northward. Light can be thrown on problems still unsolved only by following the more scientific method of inquiry pursued, and by applying to them the knowledge gained in the wider field of European research. Much yet requires to be done in the way of scientific exploration in Ireland; research work to be of any real value should be carried on only under expert supervision. That so much has been accomplished in the past is creditable to individual enterprise; but the time has surely come, with such examples before us abroad, that all further and extended investigation should be conducted under the superintendence of some recognised archæological authority. An Archæological Department is much needed in Ireland; and valuable scientific work of the kind in question should no longer be left to the haphazard enterprise of the amateur, however laudable that enterprise might be. Still more is it necessary that some check should be put on such mischievous undertakings as the exploration of Tara Hill by those absolutely unskilled in archæological work, and for the fanciful object, too, of discovering the ‘Ark of the Covenant’! Such ‘Remains’ as Tara are a national possession, a great trust from the past; and the sense of enlightened public opinion should make itself felt, in demanding such a protective measure as would ensure that the passing custodians, for their own day, of all like antiquities should not be allowed to injure them with impunity.
