The Western Stone Forts Project

The Western Stone Forts Project was initiated to study a distinctive group of large stone forts located along the western seaboard of Ireland. The majority of these forts are concentrated on the Aran Islands County Galway, in the Burren Co. Clare and on the Dingle and Iveragh peninsulas Co. Kerry. Excavations associated with the project were…

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Bone needle from Dun Aonghasa, type 1: boat-shaped needle, find no. 1240.

Creator: The Discovery Programme

Identifier: WSFP_V03_FIG_1240

Type: Image

Format: A) L.40mm; W.5.5mm; T.2mm B)L.29mm; W.6mm; T.2mm

Incomplete. Two fragments of two needles. Both are finely made and are polished, and have broken across the perforation. A) has a shank of rectangular section with a tapering shank, from 6mm at the perforation to 1mm at the blunt tip. The tip is slightly offcentre. Shank is broken across the perforation. The profile is straight, and the needle is polished. There is a longitudinal groove on both surfaces, one more prominent than the other. The former tapers, and fades out towards the tip; 30mm long and 2mm wide. The groove on the other side tapers from the perforation to a point, and is shallow; 1mm long, 1.5mm wide. Slot-like perforation is 6mm long by 1.5mm wide. B) has a fine shank which tapers to a point, from 5mm by 2mm at the perforation to 1mm diameter at the blunt tip. Rectangular with rounded sides in section; straight in profile. It has a slightly short longitudinal groove on both surfaces, tapering from the slot-like perforation. In one surface it is 14mm long by 2mm wide, and in the other it is 10mm by 1mm. The perforation is 6mm by approximately 2mm wide, and the needle has broken across it.

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