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88-682: The Lamont Harp , or Clàrsach Lumanach (also known as the Caledonian Harp or Lude Harp ) is a Scottish Clarsach currently displayed in the National Museum of Scotland . It is believed to date back to the 15th century, and to have originated in Argyll . Along with the Queen Mary Harp and the Trinity College harp , it is one of the only three surviving medieval Gaelic harps. The Lamont harp

176-520: A Celtiberian stronghold against Roman invasions. İt dates more than 2500 years back. The site was researched by Francisco Martins Sarmento starting from 1874. A number of amphoras (containers usually for wine or olive oil), coins, fragments of pottery, weapons, pieces of jewelry, as well as ruins of a bath and its pedra formosa ( lit.   ' handsome stone ' ) revealed here. The Iron Age in Central Asia began when iron objects appear among

264-681: A combination of bivalve moulds of distinct southern tradition and the incorporation of piece mould technology from the Zhongyuan . The products of the combination of these two periods are bells, vessels, weapons and ornaments, and the sophisticated cast. An Iron Age culture of the Tibetan Plateau has been associated tentatively with the Zhang Zhung culture described by early Tibetan writings. In Japan, iron items, such as tools, weapons, and decorative objects, are postulated to have entered Japan during

352-407: A mortice on the back of the lámhchrann . The com (soundbox) was usually carved from a single piece of willow, hollowed out from behind. A panel of harder timber was carefully inserted to close the back. Crúite na dtéad (string shoes) were usually made of brass and prevented the metal strings from cutting into the wood of the soundbox. The fhorshnaidhm may refer to the wooden toggle to which

440-425: A soundbox, typically carved from a single log, commonly of willow, although other woods, including alder and poplar, have been identified in extant harps. The Celtic harp also had a reinforced curved pillar and a substantial neck, flanked with thick brass cheek bands. The strings are plucked with long fingernails. This type of harp is also unique amongst single row triangular harps in that the first two strings tuned in

528-406: A string was fastened once it had emerged from its hole in the soundboard. The playing of the wire-strung harp has been described as extremely difficult. Because of the long-lasting resonance, the performer had to dampen strings which had just been played while new strings were being plucked, and this while playing rapidly. Contrary to conventional modern practice, the left hand played the treble and

616-630: A strong dislike of the Gaelic Irish , somewhat contradicts himself. While admitting that the style of music originated in Ireland, he immediately added that, in "the opinion of many", the Scots and the Welsh had now surpassed them in that skill. Gerald refers to the cythara and the tympanum , but their identification with the harp is uncertain, and it is not known that he ever visited Scotland. Scotland and Wales,

704-403: A typically large soundbox, decorated with Gaelic designs. The Irish Saint Máedóc of Ferns reliquary shrine dates from c.1100, and clearly shows King David with a triangular framed harp including a "T-Section" in the pillar. The Irish word lamhchrann or Scottish Gaelic làmh-chrann came into use at an unknown date to indicate this pillar which would have supplied the bracing to withstand

792-400: Is abundant naturally, temperatures above 1,250 °C (2,280 °F) are required to smelt it, impractical to achieve with the technology available commonly until the end of the second millennium BC. In contrast, the components of bronze—tin with a melting point of 231.9 °C (449.4 °F) and copper with a relatively moderate melting point of 1,085 °C (1,985 °F)—were within

880-646: Is also speculated that Early Iron Age sites may exist in Kandarodai , Matota, Pilapitiya and Tissamaharama . The earliest undisputed deciphered epigraphy found in the Indian subcontinent are the Edicts of Ashoka of the 3rd century BC, in the Brahmi script . Several inscriptions were thought to be pre-Ashokan by earlier scholars; these include the Piprahwa relic casket inscription,

968-522: Is considered to last from c.  1200 BC (the Bronze Age collapse ) to c.  550 BC (or 539 BC ), roughly the beginning of historiography with Herodotus , marking the end of the proto-historical period. In China , because writing was developed first, there is no recognizable prehistoric period characterized by ironworking, and the Bronze Age China transitions almost directly into

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1056-534: Is divided into two periods based on the Hallstatt culture (early Iron Age) and La Tène (late Iron Age) cultures. Material cultures of Hallstatt and La Tène consist of 4 phases (A, B, C, D). The Iron Age in Europe is characterized by an elaboration of designs of weapons, implements, and utensils. These are no longer cast but hammered into shape, and decoration is elaborate and curvilinear rather than simple rectilinear;

1144-851: Is from Malhar and its surrounding area. This site is assumed as the center for smelted bloomer iron to this area due to its location in the Karamnasa River and Ganga River. This site shows agricultural technology as iron implements sickles, nails, clamps, spearheads, etc., by at least c. 1500 BC. Archaeological excavations in Hyderabad show an Iron Age burial site. The beginning of the 1st millennium BC saw extensive developments in iron metallurgy in India. Technological advancement and mastery of iron metallurgy were achieved during this period of peaceful settlements. One ironworking centre in East India has been dated to

1232-472: Is illustrated in the songs of Màiri Nic Leòid (Mary MacLeod) ( c.  1615 – c.  1705 ), a prominent Gaelic poet of her time. The chief is praised as one who is skilled in judging harp-playing, the theme of a story and the pith of sense: The music of harp and pipe is shown to be intrinsic to the splendour of the MacLeod court, along with wine in shining cups: Here the great Highland bagpipe shares

1320-540: Is likely that the use of ironware made of steel had already begun in the third millennium BC in Central Anatolia". Souckova-Siegolová (2001) shows that iron implements were made in Central Anatolia in very limited quantities about 1800 BC and were in general use by elites, though not by commoners, during the New Hittite Empire (≈1400–1200 BC). Similarly, recent archaeological remains of iron-working in

1408-616: Is recorded to extend 10 ha (25 acres) by 800 BC and grew to 50 ha (120 acres) by 700–600 BC to become a town. The skeletal remains of an Early Iron Age chief were excavated in Anaikoddai, Jaffna . The name "Ko Veta" is engraved in Brahmi script on a seal buried with the skeleton and is assigned by the excavators to the 3rd century BC. Ko, meaning "King" in Tamil, is comparable to such names as Ko Atan and Ko Putivira occurring in contemporary Brahmi inscriptions in south India. It

1496-506: Is singularly scarce in collections of Egyptian antiquities. Bronze remained the primary material there until the conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 671 BC. The explanation of this would seem to be that the relics are in most cases the paraphernalia of tombs, the funeral vessels and vases, and iron being considered an impure metal by the ancient Egyptians it was never used in their manufacture of these or for any religious purposes. It

1584-448: Is stated as beginning with the ironworking Painted Grey Ware culture , dating from the 15th century BC , through to the reign of Ashoka in the 3rd century BC . The term "Iron Age" in the archaeology of South, East, and Southeast Asia is more recent and less common than for Western Eurasia. Africa did not have a universal "Bronze Age", and many areas transitioned directly from stone to iron. Some archaeologists believe that iron metallurgy

1672-411: Is the mass production of tools and weapons made not just of found iron, but from smelted steel alloys with an added carbon content. Only with the capability of the production of carbon steel does ferrous metallurgy result in tools or weapons that are harder and lighter than bronze . Smelted iron appears sporadically in the archeological record from the middle Bronze Age . Whilst terrestrial iron

1760-894: The Badli pillar inscription , the Bhattiprolu relic casket inscription, the Sohgaura copper plate inscription , the Mahasthangarh Brahmi inscription, the Eran coin legend, the Taxila coin legends, and the inscription on the silver coins of Sophytes . However, more recent scholars have dated them to later periods. Dates are approximate; consult particular article for details. Archaeology in Thailand at sites Ban Don Ta Phet and Khao Sam Kaeo yielding metallic, stone, and glass artifacts stylistically associated with

1848-609: The Dupplin Cross from c. 800 AD. The Norman-Welsh cleric and scholar Gerald of Wales (c.1146 – c.1223), whose Topographica Hibernica et Expugnatio Hibernica is a description of Ireland from the Anglo-Norman point of view, praised Irish harp music (if little else), stating: The only thing to which I find that this people apply a commendable industry is playing upon musical instruments… they are incomparably more skilful than any other nation I have ever seen However, Gerald, who had

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1936-542: The English class system . In his biography of Turlough O'Carolan , historian Donal O'Sullivan writes: We may note as a remarkable fact that the descendants of Protestant settlers, who had been at most for three generations in the country, seem to have been just as devoted to the Irish music of the harp as were the old Gaelic families. The function of the clàrsach in a Hebridean lordship, both as entertainment and as literary metaphor,

2024-655: The Ganges Valley in India have been dated tentatively to 1800 BC. Tewari (2003) concludes that "knowledge of iron smelting and manufacturing of iron artifacts was well known in the Eastern Vindhyas and iron had been in use in the Central Ganga Plain, at least from the early second millennium BC". By the Middle Bronze Age increasing numbers of smelted iron objects (distinguishable from meteoric iron by

2112-534: The Geum River basin . The time that iron production begins is the same time that complex chiefdoms of Proto-historic Korea emerged. The complex chiefdoms were the precursors of early states such as Silla , Baekje , Goguryeo , and Gaya Iron ingots were an important mortuary item and indicated the wealth or prestige of the deceased during this period. Dates are approximate; consult particular article for details. The earliest evidence of iron smelting predates

2200-707: The Indo-European Saka in present-day Xinjiang (China) between the 10th century BC and the 7th century BC, such as those found at the cemetery site of Chawuhukou. The Pazyryk culture is an Iron Age archaeological culture ( c.  6th to 3rd centuries BC) identified by excavated artifacts and mummified humans found in the Siberian permafrost in the Altay Mountains . Dates are approximate; consult particular article for details. In China, Chinese bronze inscriptions are found around 1200 BC, preceding

2288-541: The Late Bronze Age collapse , during the 12th century BC (1200–1100 BC). The technology soon spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin region and to South Asia between the 12th and 11th century BC. Its further spread to Central Asia , Eastern Europe , and Central Europe was somewhat delayed, and Northern Europe was not reached until about the start of the 5th century BC (500 BC). The Iron Age in India

2376-486: The Museum of Scotland , where they remain. The Lamont Harp stands 95 cm tall and 42.5 cm wide and is considerably larger than the 2 other medieval harps (Queen Mary and Trinity harps), but smaller than other surviving Gaelic Harps. The Lamont harp has very little decorative carving when compared to the other surviving examples, and was constructed with fine metal fittings, notably fox styled metal reinforcements between

2464-701: The Orchid Island . Early evidence for iron technology in Sub-Saharan Africa can be found at sites such as KM2 and KM3 in northwest Tanzania and parts of Nigeria and the Central African Republic. Nubia was one of the relatively few places in Africa to have a sustained Bronze Age along with Egypt and much of the rest of North Africa . Archaeometallurgical scientific knowledge and technological development originated in numerous centers of Africa;

2552-612: The Qin dynasty of imperial China. "Iron Age" in the context of China is used sometimes for the transitional period of c.  900 BC to 100 BC during which ferrous metallurgy was present even if not dominant. The Iron Age in the Ancient Near East is believed to have begun after the discovery of iron smelting and smithing techniques in Anatolia , the Caucasus or Southeast Europe during

2640-569: The Roman conquests of the 1st century BC serve as marking the end of the Iron Age. The Germanic Iron Age of Scandinavia is considered to end c.  AD 800 , with the beginning of the Viking Age . The three-age method of Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages was first used for the archaeology of Europe during the first half of the 19th century, and by the latter half of the 19th century, it had been extended to

2728-570: The Utrecht Psalter , the only other source outside Pictish Scotland to display a Triangular Chordophone instrument. The Utrecht Psalter was penned between 816 and 835 AD. However, Pictish Triangular Chordophone carvings found on the Nigg Stone date from 790 to 799 AD. and pre-date the document by up to forty years. Other Pictish sculptures also predate the Utrecht Psalter, namely the harper on

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2816-572: The Yangtse Valley toward the end of the 6th century BC. The few objects were found at Changsha and Nanjing . The mortuary evidence suggests that the initial use of iron in Lingnan belongs to the mid-to-late Warring States period (from about 350 BC). Important non-precious husi style metal finds include iron tools found at the tomb at Guwei-cun of the 4th century BC. The techniques used in Lingnan are

2904-482: The 15th century and may have been made in Argyll in western Scotland. One of the largest and most complete collections of 17th–18th century harp music is the work of Turlough O'Carolan , a blind, itinerant Irish harper and composer. At least 220 of his compositions survive to this day. Two experts in this field, John Bannerman and Micheal Newton, agree that, by the 1500s, the most common Celtic harp strings are made of brass. Historical sources don't seem to mention

2992-567: The Anglo Saxons who commonly used gut strings and then west to the Gaels of the Highlands and to Ireland. Exactly thirteen depictions of any triangular chordophone instrument from pre-11th-century Europe exist and twelve of them come from Scotland. The earliest Irish references to stringed instruments are from the 6th century, and players of such instruments were held in high regard by the nobility of

3080-509: The Gaelic world was known as a cruit . This word may originally have described a different stringed instrument, being etymologically related to the Welsh crwth . It has been suggested that the word clàrsach / cláirseach (from clàr / clár , a board) was coined for the triangular frame harp which replaced the cruit , and that this coining was of Scottish origin. A notched piece of wood which some have interpreted to be part of

3168-455: The Indian subcontinent began prior to the 3rd millennium BC. Archaeological sites in India, such as Malhar, Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila, Lahuradewa, Kosambi and Jhusi , Allahabad in present-day Uttar Pradesh show iron implements in the period 1800–1200 BC. As the evidence from the sites Raja Nala ka tila, Malhar suggest the use of Iron in c. 1800/1700 BC. The extensive use of iron smelting

3256-752: The Indian subcontinent suggest Indianization of Southeast Asia beginning in the 4th to 2nd centuries BC during the late Iron Age. In Philippines and Vietnam , the Sa Huynh culture showed evidence of an extensive trade network. Sa Huynh beads were made from glass, carnelian, agate, olivine, zircon, gold and garnet; most of these materials were not local to the region and were most likely imported. Han-dynasty-style bronze mirrors were also found in Sa Huynh sites. Conversely, Sa Huynh produced ear ornaments have been found in archaeological sites in Central Thailand, as well as

3344-478: The Irish context on the west coast of Scotland and both carvings date two hundred years after the Pictish carvings. The first true representations of the Irish triangular harp do not appear till the late eleventh century in a reliquary and the twelfth century on stone and the earliest harps used in Ireland were quadrangular lyres as ecclesiastical instruments, One study suggests Pictish stone carvings may be copied from

3432-612: The Late Bronze Age continued into the Early Iron Age. Thus, there is a sociocultural continuity during this transitional period. In Iran, the earliest actual iron artifacts were unknown until the 9th century BC. For Iran, the best studied archaeological site during this time period is Teppe Hasanlu . In the Mesopotamian states of Sumer , Akkad and Assyria , the initial use of iron reaches far back, to perhaps 3000 BC. One of

3520-570: The Late Bronze Age. As part of the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age, the Bronze Age collapse saw the slow, comparatively continuous spread of iron-working technology in the region. It was long believed that the success of the Hittite Empire during the Late Bronze Age had been based on the advantages entailed by the "monopoly" on ironworking at the time. Accordingly, the invading Sea Peoples would have been responsible for spreading

3608-595: The Romans, though ironworking remained the dominant technology until recent times. Elsewhere it may last until the early centuries AD, and either Christianization or a new conquest during the Migration Period . Iron working was introduced to Europe during the late 11th century BC, probably from the Caucasus , and slowly spread northwards and westwards over the succeeding 500 years. The Iron Age did not start when iron first appeared in Europe but it began to replace bronze in

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3696-587: The T-section reinforcement is shorter than on other early Gaelic harps, and the distortion does seem to have happened at the ends, where the pillar is wide but thin. In 1805 both the Lamont Harp and Queen Mary Harp were exhibited to the Highland society of Scotland and a history was commissioned and published by the author John Gunn in 1870. Replicas of the Lamont Harp have been attempted by many modern harpmakers, one of

3784-554: The archaeology of the Ancient Near East was developed during the 1920s and 1930s. Meteoric iron, a natural iron–nickel alloy , was used by various ancient peoples thousands of years before the Iron Age. The earliest-known meteoric iron artifacts are nine small beads dated to 3200 BC , which were found in burials at Gerzeh in Lower Egypt , having been shaped by careful hammering. The characteristic of an Iron Age culture

3872-480: The archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Its name harks back to the mythological " Ages of Man " of Hesiod . As an archaeological era, it was first introduced to Scandinavia by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen during the 1830s. By the 1860s, it was embraced as a useful division of the "earliest history of mankind" in general and began to be applied in Assyriology . The development of the now-conventional periodization in

3960-751: The bass, to achieve satisfactory tone, though this is still somewhat controversial. Ann Heymann and others have successfully strung medieval harps with gold bass strings. Replicas or reproductions have been produced. Clarsach The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as cláirseach in Irish , clàrsach in Scottish Gaelic , telenn in Breton and telyn in Welsh . In Ireland and Scotland, it

4048-590: The beginning of the Western Han dynasty . Yoon proposes that iron was first introduced to chiefdoms located along North Korean river valleys that flow into the Yellow Sea such as the Cheongcheon and Taedong Rivers. Iron production quickly followed during the 2nd century BC, and iron implements came to be used by farmers by the 1st century in southern Korea. The earliest known cast-iron axes in southern Korea are found in

4136-434: The beginning of the Iron Age is defined locally around the world by archaeological convention when the production of smelted iron (especially steel tools and weapons) replaces their bronze equivalents in common use. In Anatolia and the Caucasus , or Southeast Europe , the Iron Age began during the late 2nd millennium BC ( c. 1300 BC). In the Ancient Near East , this transition occurred simultaneously with

4224-498: The bridge of an Iron Age lyre dating to around 300 BC was discovered on the Isle of Skye , which, if actually a bridge, would make it the oldest surviving fragment of a western European stringed instrument (although images of Greek lyres are much older). The earliest descriptions of a European triangular framed harp, i.e. harps with a fore pillar, are found on carved 8th century Pictish stones . Pictish harps were strung from horsehair. The instruments apparently spread south to

4312-482: The capabilities of Neolithic kilns , which date back to 6000 BC and were able to produce temperatures greater than 900 °C (1,650 °F). In addition to specially designed furnaces, ancient iron production required the development of complex procedures for the removal of impurities, the regulation of the admixture of carbon, and the invention of hot-working to achieve a useful balance of hardness and strength in steel. The use of steel has also been regulated by

4400-417: The development of iron metallurgy, which was known by the 9th century BC. The large seal script is identified with a group of characters from a book entitled Shǐ Zhòu Piān ( c. 800 BC). Therefore, in China prehistory had given way to history periodized by ruling dynasties by the start of iron use, so "Iron Age" is not used typically to describe a period of Chinese history. Iron metallurgy reached

4488-400: The difficulties being establishing the original form and string lengths due to the present distorted state of the instrument, and the natural desire to avoid the catastrophic fate of the original. It may be that during its lifetime the Lamont harp was re-strung with heavier, possibly brass wires, in order to change its volume or tone. It is speculated that the original stringing used gold wire in

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4576-420: The earliest smelted iron artifacts known is a dagger with an iron blade found in a Hattic tomb in Anatolia , dating from 2500 BC. The widespread use of iron weapons which replaced bronze weapons rapidly disseminated throughout the Near East (North Africa, southwest Asia ) by the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. The development of iron smelting was once attributed to the Hittites of Anatolia during

4664-434: The economics of the metallurgical advancements. The earliest tentative evidence for iron-making is a small number of iron fragments with the appropriate amounts of carbon admixture found in the Proto-Hittite layers at Kaman-Kalehöyük in modern-day Turkey, dated to 2200–2000 BC. Akanuma (2008) concludes that "The combination of carbon dating, archaeological context, and archaeometallurgical examination indicates that it

4752-505: The emergence of the Iron Age proper by several centuries. Iron was being used in Mundigak to manufacture some items in the 3rd millennium BC such as a small copper/bronze bell with an iron clapper, a copper/bronze rod with two iron decorative buttons, and a copper/bronze mirror handle with a decorative iron button. Artefacts including small knives and blades have been discovered in the Indian state of Telangana which have been dated between 2400 BC and 1800 BC. The history of metallurgy in

4840-520: The end of the Bronze Age . The Iron Age in Europe is often considered as a part of the Bronze Age collapse in the ancient Near East . Anthony Snodgrass suggests that a shortage of tin and trade disruptions in the Mediterranean about 1300 BC forced metalworkers to seek an alternative to bronze. Many bronze implements were recycled into weapons during that time, and more widespread use of iron resulted in improved steel-making technology and lower costs. When tin became readily available again, iron

4928-438: The excavation of Ugarit. A dagger with an iron blade found in Tutankhamun's tomb , 13th century BC, was examined recently and found to be of meteoric origin. In Europe, the Iron Age is the last stage of prehistoric Europe and the first of the protohistoric periods, which initially means descriptions of a particular area by Greek and Roman writers. For much of Europe, the period came to an abrupt local end after conquest by

5016-534: The final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progressing to protohistory (before written history). In this usage, it is preceded by the Stone Age (subdivided into the Paleolithic , Mesolithic and Neolithic ) and Bronze Age. These concepts originated for describing Iron Age Europe and the Ancient Near East . The indigenous cultures of the New World did not develop an iron economy before 1500 . Although meteoric iron has been used for millennia in many regions,

5104-401: The first millennium BC. In Southern India (present-day Mysore ) iron appeared as early as 12th to 11th centuries BC; these developments were too early for any significant close contact with the northwest of the country. The Indian Upanishads mention metallurgy. and the Indian Mauryan period saw advances in metallurgy. As early as 300 BC, certainly by 200 AD, high-quality steel

5192-447: The former by reason of her derivation, the latter from intercourse and affinity, seek with emulous endeavours to imitate Ireland in music. Ireland uses and delights in but two instruments, the harp namely, and the tympanum . Scotland uses three, the harp, the tympanum , and the crowd . Early images of the clàrsach are not common in Scottish iconography, but a gravestone at Kiells , in Argyllshire , dating from about 1500, shows one with

5280-424: The forms and character of the ornamentation of the northern European weapons resemble in some respects Roman arms, while in other respects they are peculiar and evidently representative of northern art. Citânia de Briteiros , located in Guimarães , Portugal, is one of the examples of archaeological sites of the Iron Age. This settlement (fortified villages) covered an area of 3.8 hectares (9.4 acres), and served as

5368-420: The harper, a consequence, perhaps, of the growing influence in the Gaelic world of Lowland Scots culture. In the early 19th century, even as the old Gaelic harp tradition was dying out, a new harp was developed in Ireland. It had gut strings and semitone mechanisms like an orchestral pedal harp, and was built and marketed by John Egan , a pedal harp maker in Dublin. The new harp was small and curved like

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5456-421: The high status of the clàrsach. It would help supplant the harp, and may already have developed its own classical tradition in the form of the elaborate "great music" ( ceòl mòr ). An elegy to Sir Donald MacDonald of Clanranald, attributed to his widow in 1618, contains a very early reference to the bagpipe in a lairdly setting: There is evidence that the musical tradition of the clàrsach may have influenced

5544-415: The historical cláirseach or Irish harp, but it was strung with gut and its soundbox was lighter. In the 1890s a similar new harp became popular in Scotland as part of a Gaelic cultural revival . There is now, however, renewed interest in the wire-strung harp, or clàrsach , with replicas being made and research being conducted into ancient playing techniques and terminology. A notable event in

5632-400: The instructions of Menzies of Culdares on 19 June 1713, and the Marquis of Huntly's accounts record a payment to two harpers in 1714. Other harpers include Rory Dall Morison (who died c.  1714 ), Lachlan Dall (who died c.  1721–1727 ), and Murdoch MacDonald (who died c.  1740 ). By the middle of the eighteenth century the "violer" (fiddle player) had replaced

5720-446: The knowledge through that region. The idea of such a "Hittite monopoly" has been examined more thoroughly and no longer represents a scholarly consensus. While there are some iron objects from Bronze Age Anatolia, the number is comparable to iron objects found in Egypt and other places of the same time period; and only a small number of these objects are weapons. Dates are approximate; consult particular article for details. Iron metal

5808-508: The lack of nickel in the product) appeared in the Middle East , Southeast Asia and South Asia . African sites are revealing dates as early as 2000–1200 BC. However, some recent studies date the inception of iron metallurgy in Africa between 3000 and 2500 BC, with evidence existing for early iron metallurgy in parts of Nigeria, Cameroon, and Central Africa, from as early as around 2,000 BC. The Nok culture of Nigeria may have practiced iron smelting from as early as 1000 BC, while

5896-409: The late 2nd millennium BC ( c. 1300 BC). The earliest bloomery smelting of iron is found at Tell Hammeh , Jordan about 930 BC (determined from C dating ). The Early Iron Age in the Caucasus area is divided conventionally into two periods, Early Iron I, dated to about 1100 BC, and the Early Iron II phase from the tenth to ninth centuries BC. Many of the material culture traditions of

5984-431: The late Yayoi period ( c. 300 BC – 300 AD) or the succeeding Kofun period ( c. 250–538 AD), most likely from the Korean Peninsula and China. Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new pottery styles and the start of intensive rice agriculture in paddy fields. Yayoi culture flourished in a geographic area from southern Kyūshū to northern Honshū . The Kofun and

6072-433: The middle of the gamut were set to the same pitch. The names of the components of the cláirseach were as follows: The corr had a brass strap nailed to each side, pierced by tapered brass tuning pins. The treble end had a tenon which fitted into the top of the com (soundbox). On a low-headed harp the corr was morticed at the bass end to receive a tenon on the lámhchrann ; on a high-headed harp this tenon fitted into

6160-419: The nearby Djenné-Djenno culture of the Niger Valley in Mali shows evidence of iron production from c. 250 BC. Iron technology across much of sub-Saharan Africa has an African origin dating to before 2000 BC. These findings confirm the independent invention of iron smelting in sub-Saharan Africa. Modern archaeological evidence identifies the start of large-scale global iron production about 1200 BC, marking

6248-468: The pillar ( Lamhchrann ) and neck of the instrument, the metal head is beaten to imitate a gem setting and the square drives of the tuning pins are fitted to resemble cloves or rosebuds. The Lamont harp bears the inscription “Al Stew(art) of Clunie his Harp 165(0)” although this is too late a date for the original construction of the harp this may relate to the repair. The wood has been identified as hornbeam or English walnut. The pillar has distorted over time;

6336-566: The preparation of tools and weapons. It did not happen at the same time throughout Europe; local cultural developments played a role in the transition to the Iron Age. For example, the Iron Age of Prehistoric Ireland begins about 500 BC (when the Greek Iron Age had already ended) and finishes about 400 AD. The widespread use of the technology of iron was implemented in Europe simultaneously with Asia. The prehistoric Iron Age in Central Europe

6424-583: The revival of the Celtic harp is the Edinburgh International Harp Festival , which has been held annually since 1982 and includes both performances and instructional workshops. Iron Age The Iron Age ( c.  1200  – c.  550 BC ) is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages , after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age . It has also been considered as

6512-542: The right the bass. It was said that a player should begin to learn the harp no later than the age of seven. The best modern players have shown, however, that reasonable competence may be achieved even at a later age. During the medieval period, the wire-strung harp was in demand throughout the Gaelic territories, which stretched from the northern Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland to the south of Ireland. The Gaelic worlds of Scotland and Ireland, however, while retaining close links, were already showing signs of divergence in

6600-451: The sixteenth century in language, music and social structure. The harp was the aristocratic instrument of Gaelic Ireland , and harpers enjoyed a high social status which was codified in Brehon Law . The patronage of harpers was adopted by Norman and British settlers in Ireland until the late 18th century, although their standing in society was greatly diminished with the introduction of

6688-424: The strings' gauge or materials, other than references to a very low-quality and simply-made brass, often contemporarily called "red brass." Modern-day experiments on stringing a Celtic harp include testing of more exotic and custom materials including copper alloys, silver, and gold. Other experiments include more easily obtainable materials, including softer iron, as well as yellow and red brass. The strings attach to

6776-614: The subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period ; The word kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from that era. Iron objects were introduced to the Korean peninsula through trade with chiefdoms and state-level societies in the Yellow Sea area during the 4th century BC, just at the end of the Warring States Period but prior to

6864-711: The tension of a wire-strung harp. Three of the four pre-16th-century authentic harps that survive today are of Gaelic provenance: the Brian Boru Harp in Trinity College, Dublin , and the Queen Mary and Lamont Harps , both in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh . The last two are examples of the small low-headed harp, and were long believed to have been made from hornbeam , a wood not native to Scotland or Ireland. This theory has been refuted by Karen Loomis in her 2015 PhD thesis. All three are dated approximately to

6952-518: The term is used infrequently for the archaeology of China. For the Ancient Near East, the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire c.  550 BC is used traditionally and still usually as an end date; later dates are considered historical according to the record by Herodotus despite considerable written records now being known from well back into the Bronze Age. In Central and Western Europe,

7040-490: The time. Early Irish law from 700 AD stipulates that bards and 'cruit' players should sit with the nobility at banquets and not with the common entertainers. Another stringed instrument from this era was the tiompán , most likely a kind of lyre. Despite providing the earliest evidence of stringed instruments in Ireland, no records described what these instruments looked like, or how the cruit and tiompán differed from one another. Only two quadrangular instruments occur within

7128-466: The use and repertoire of the bagpipe. The oral mnemonic system called canntaireachd , used for encoding and teaching ceòl mòr , is first mentioned in the 1226 obituary of a clàrsair (harp player). Terms relating to theme and variation on the clàrsach and the bagpipe correlate to each other. Founders of bagpipe dynasties are also noted as clársach players. The names of a number of the last harpers are recorded. The blind Duncan McIndeor, who died in 1694,

7216-523: Was a wire -strung instrument requiring great skill and long practice to play, and was associated with the Gaelic ruling class . It appears on Irish coins, Guinness products, and the coat of arms of the Republic of Ireland , Montserrat , Canada and the United Kingdom . The early history of the triangular frame harp in Europe is contested. The first instrument associated with the harping tradition in

7304-481: Was attributed to Seth, the spirit of evil who according to Egyptian tradition governed the central deserts of Africa. In the Black Pyramid of Abusir , dating before 2000 BC, Gaston Maspero found some pieces of iron. In the funeral text of Pepi I , the metal is mentioned. A sword bearing the name of pharaoh Merneptah as well as a battle axe with an iron blade and gold-decorated bronze shaft were both found in

7392-400: Was cheaper, stronger and lighter, and forged iron implements superseded cast bronze tools permanently. In Central and Western Europe, the Iron Age lasted from c.  800 BC to c.  1 BC , beginning in pre-Roman Iron Age Northern Europe in c.  600 BC , and reaching Northern Scandinavian Europe about c.  500 BC . The Iron Age in the Ancient Near East

7480-505: Was developed in sub-Saharan Africa independently from Eurasia and neighbouring parts of Northeast Africa as early as 2000 BC . The concept of the Iron Age ending with the beginning of the written historiographical record has not generalized well, as written language and steel use have developed at different times in different areas across the archaeological record. For instance, in China, written history started before iron smelting began, so

7568-476: Was harper to Campbell of Auchinbreck, but also frequented Edinburgh. A receipt for "two bolls of meall", dated 1683, is extant for another harper, also blind, named Patrick McErnace, who apparently played for Lord Neill Campbell. The harper Manus McShire is mentioned in an account book covering the period 1688–1704. A harper called Neill Baine is mentioned in a letter dated 1702 from a servitor of Allan MacDonald of Clanranald. Angus McDonald, harper, received payment on

7656-576: Was presented to the Robertson family of Lude 1460-1464 as part of a marriage dowry to Charles Robertson of Lude (or of Clune). The Lamont Harp was handed down in the Robertson family and remained at Lude in Perthshire until 1805, when both the Lamont Harp and the Queen Mary Harp were sent to Edinburgh. In 1880 both clarsachs were deposited by a John Stewart of Dalguise in the National Museum of Edinburgh now

7744-551: Was produced in southern India, by what would later be called the crucible technique . In this system, high-purity wrought iron, charcoal, and glass were mixed in a crucible and heated until the iron melted and absorbed the carbon. The protohistoric Early Iron Age in Sri Lanka lasted from 1000 BC to 600 BC. Radiocarbon evidence has been collected from Anuradhapura and Aligala shelter in Sigiriya . The Anuradhapura settlement

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