Arms control on the Aran Islands

Weapons inspectors are not just part of modern life.

 We may think that non-proliferation treaties and weapons inspectors are solely a part of modern life, but even the Bronze Age leaders on the Aran Islands were concerned with controlling the production and distribution of weapons. In the Bronze Age, the Aran Islands seem to have been united into a chiefdom whose leader lived in the spectacular hillfort at Dún Aonghasa on Inishmore. Excavations by the Discovery Programme inside the hillfort in the 1990s produced a large number of fragmentary clay moulds that had been used to produce swords and spearheads along with crucible fragments for pouring the molten metal and a large hearth area. Only the chief and some of the elites of the society would have lived in Dún Aonghasa so clearly, the bronze smiths who were producing the weapons were working under the direct control of the chief. Bronze working was a highly skilled task with many trade secrets and so by controlling the bronze smiths, the chief controlled the technology. Individuals and local communities may not have always submitted to the chief willingly but by controlling the manufacture and ownership of weapons, the chief could monopolise the use of force.
In addition to sword and spear moulds, the archaeologists also found fragmentary moulds for valuable ornaments such as bracelets and ornamental dress-fastening pins. In the Bronze Age, people wore these ornaments as symbols of political and economic status. By controlling the production and distribution of these valuable ornaments, the chief had the power to grant status and privilege and thereby motivate people to obey and work for him. Taken together, controlling the production of both weapons and ornaments benefited the chief in two ways – by directly controlling the production of valuables, the chief controlled access to wealth and status and by controlling the production of weapons the chief ensured others could not usurp him by force or ignore his demands.
Carleton Jones
Lecturer, Dept of Archaeology, NUI Galway
Adapted from The Burren and the Aran Islands – Exploring the Archaeology by Carleton Jones (2004 The Collins Press). Dr Jones's next book Temples of Stone – Exploring the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland will be out this year (The Collins Press)