Small Finds, Big Discoveries: Stone Tools in Ancient Ireland
- Thursday 19 March 2026, 12pm-1pm GMT
- Online
This event has now ended, but you can still register to get the recording.
Discover life in ancient Ireland through its smallest moments. What can we learn about the people who lived here 5,000 years ago from the stone tools they used? Join us as we explore the small but mighty discoveries reshaping our understanding of Ireland’s Neolithic past.
About the event
When you hear “Neolithic Ireland”, your mind probably goes straight to towering megalithic monuments the size of football fields, like the ones we were lucky enough to chat with Geraldine Stout about last year.
But archaeology’s not just about the monumental, and sometimes the most revealing stories come from fragments small enough to fit on your fingertip.
What can a sharp sliver of flint or a scatter of quartz flakes tell us about the people who lived here 5,000 years ago? These humble discoveries offer a direct line to daily life in the Neolithic, and help us understand the people of this period during a time of considerable transition in stone use and tool technology for hunting, building, farming, and even celebrating their communities or commemorating their dead.
Our speakers:
- Cian Hogan, lithic specialist and geophysical archaeologist
- Lisa Westcott Wilkins, Founder and co-CEO of DigVentures, who are undertaking ongoing investigations into a cluster of ancient monuments south of the River Boyne, where new discoveries continue to add to an evolving story
- Dr Brendon Wilkins, Founder and co-CEO of DigVentures
In this live event, we’ll discuss stone tools of the wider Neolithic, the Boyne Valley, and those at the heart of our own excavations, exploring:
- Different tool types, and how stone was reduced, shaped and transformed to meet different Neolithic needs
- The techniques behind toolmaking, and what they reveal about skill and knowledge of the time
- What different stone types can tell us about movement and connection between communities
- How archaeologists distinguish deliberate tool production from random debris
- How everyday Neolithic tools might connect to tradition, ritual and ceremonial life
- Highlights from our own most exciting lithic and quartz finds to date
- What we still want to know (and how you can help find the answers!)
This event also includes a live Q&A, so you’ll have the opportunity to put your burning lithics questions directly to our expert.
This event is perfect for you, if you’re…
- Interested in Irish heritage and culture
- A student of archaeology and ancient history
- Keen to hear the latest research, ideas, and discoveries on Neolithic archaeology
- Planning to visit Ireland
- Seeking to connect with Irish ancestry
About Cian
Cian Hogan is a lithic specialist and geophysical archaeologist. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Applied Archaeology from I.T. Sligo (now ATU – Sligo) in 2009, and was awarded a Master of Literature from UCD in 2022. This research focused on lithics found on domestic sites dating to the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age in Ireland. He now provides lithic analyses and consultancy for commercial and research projects through his own practice. His research focuses on lithics of later prehistoric and historic periods, as well as standards of practice.
