As a side note, we do know that there were chariots among the Pre Roman Britons and the Gauls, so the idea that the chariot elements could have been prehistoric, but not originally Irish (per de) in origin exists
Another fascinating and entertaining video with evocative images, great job - the final observation about Ireland's boggy landscape not being conducive to charioteering seems pretty compelling.
That's only part of the island. And in the boggy parts, such as Longford, there's evidence of road construction going back to at roughly 3000BC. There evidence near Edenderry in Offaly (which isn't boggy) and in Antrim of roads that appear to be designed to support wheeled vehicles. Munster has evidence of Iron Age paved roads. Also, land west of the Shannon is vastly different from that east of the Shannon. Geologically, the former is Laurentian. It's where the clichéd boggy land is. The rest also has bogs, but they're not blanket bogs and aren't particularly spongy.
I mean yes. Linguistic analysis is enough, even if you're not looking at mythology. The word "car" and thus "chariot" is a borrowing into Latin from Gaulish. The modern Irish word "carr" means "wagon, chariot, car", even if the word "gluaisteán" was coined as a neologism because people involved in the Gaelic revival made the mistaken assumption that "carr" was a borrowing.
I cannot speak on behalf of Ireland but we do have actual pre roman chariots in the uk that have been archeologically discovered infact they recreated what they believed the full construction would have looked like before it was buried so with this knowledge the thought of Ireland also having chariots isn't that far fetched
I agree that the thought of the ancient Irish having chariots isn't that far-fetched. (To clarify, I say in the video that the idea of them *doing chariot battles on wooden track ways* is far-fetched.) But ultimately we lack the evidence needed to say conclusively they had them-like the evidence found in Britain
@@irishmyths Ahh fair I missed the wooden trackways part, that said I don't actually know much about that period in terms of equipment and clothing such things so that is me doing some research I suppose!
Honestly I think the way that we are looking at this is all wrong as a simple binary of all one way or the other when more often than not the answer is both the chariots of irish legend are probably both historical based on written evidence and the fact that Caesar himself mentions the use of chariots in britain and I find it very difficult to believe that this was somehow isolated to britain in a time when Britain and Ireland were very culturally and technologically similar many of the events that would divide up these islands hadn't happened yet and while they would not have seen each other as one group they connections were undeniable. However its also hard to believe that greek myth didn't influence the irish myths I strongly believe they did but that doesn't mean that the chariots were entirely made up the truth is very likely a mix of historical and mythical influence.
Thank you for the thoughtful comment! But ultimately the fact remains: we haven't found the kind of *physical evidence* for ancient Irish chariots like the kind that's been discovered in Britain. But given how boggy the Irish landscape is (great for preserving artifacts!), I wouldn't be too surprised if such evidence is one day discovered. In which case I'll get to make a part 2 to this video!
Different islands, different cultures (with a shared linguistic origin, of course)...but ultimately, the Iron Age Irish absolutely *could* have used chariots too. We just haven't found definitive proof yet. Perhaps someday we will!
LMAO great channel, but terrible interpretation of the evidence. There are chariots found in Scotland from the early iron age. The bell beakers also brought chariots to Britain and Ireland. It was proto Indo European and ye know it! Why didn't you show the chariots they've actually found in archaeology? @@irishmyths
@@aidanmcmillan-dx8lq thanks for the comment! Decided to stay laser-focused on Ireland for this video, hence only discussing archaeological evidence found in Ireland
Egyptian Princess Scotia had used a chariot on her travels around Ireland and today's Scotland. Princess Scotia is said to be buried here in Ireland. There are also many other stories or accounts that were given handed down through generation to generation.
As a side note, we do know that there were chariots among the Pre Roman Britons and the Gauls, so the idea that the chariot elements could have been prehistoric, but not originally Irish (per de) in origin exists
Another fascinating and entertaining video with evocative images, great job - the final observation about Ireland's boggy landscape not being conducive to charioteering seems pretty compelling.
Thanks for your continued viewership and thoughtful comment! Means a lot 🙏
As a lover of Irish folk lore, it killed me to agree on this assessment. I don't want this to be true.
That's only part of the island. And in the boggy parts, such as Longford, there's evidence of road construction going back to at roughly 3000BC. There evidence near Edenderry in Offaly (which isn't boggy) and in Antrim of roads that appear to be designed to support wheeled vehicles. Munster has evidence of Iron Age paved roads.
Also, land west of the Shannon is vastly different from that east of the Shannon. Geologically, the former is Laurentian. It's where the clichéd boggy land is. The rest also has bogs, but they're not blanket bogs and aren't particularly spongy.
I mean yes. Linguistic analysis is enough, even if you're not looking at mythology. The word "car" and thus "chariot" is a borrowing into Latin from Gaulish. The modern Irish word "carr" means "wagon, chariot, car", even if the word "gluaisteán" was coined as a neologism because people involved in the Gaelic revival made the mistaken assumption that "carr" was a borrowing.
I cannot speak on behalf of Ireland but we do have actual pre roman chariots in the uk that have been archeologically discovered infact they recreated what they believed the full construction would have looked like before it was buried so with this knowledge the thought of Ireland also having chariots isn't that far fetched
I agree that the thought of the ancient Irish having chariots isn't that far-fetched. (To clarify, I say in the video that the idea of them *doing chariot battles on wooden track ways* is far-fetched.) But ultimately we lack the evidence needed to say conclusively they had them-like the evidence found in Britain
@@irishmyths Ahh fair I missed the wooden trackways part, that said I don't actually know much about that period in terms of equipment and clothing such things so that is me doing some research I suppose!
What a captivating journey through the annals of history these videos provide.
Thanks for watching and for that nice comment!! 🙏
Honestly I think the way that we are looking at this is all wrong as a simple binary of all one way or the other when more often than not the answer is both the chariots of irish legend are probably both historical based on written evidence and the fact that Caesar himself mentions the use of chariots in britain and I find it very difficult to believe that this was somehow isolated to britain in a time when Britain and Ireland were very culturally and technologically similar many of the events that would divide up these islands hadn't happened yet and while they would not have seen each other as one group they connections were undeniable. However its also hard to believe that greek myth didn't influence the irish myths I strongly believe they did but that doesn't mean that the chariots were entirely made up the truth is very likely a mix of historical and mythical influence.
Thank you for the thoughtful comment! But ultimately the fact remains: we haven't found the kind of *physical evidence* for ancient Irish chariots like the kind that's been discovered in Britain. But given how boggy the Irish landscape is (great for preserving artifacts!), I wouldn't be too surprised if such evidence is one day discovered. In which case I'll get to make a part 2 to this video!
Great vid as usual
The Iron Age British had Chariots, so why not the Irish?
Different islands, different cultures (with a shared linguistic origin, of course)...but ultimately, the Iron Age Irish absolutely *could* have used chariots too. We just haven't found definitive proof yet. Perhaps someday we will!
Irish myths channel is apparently about debunking myths not telling them.
LMAO great channel, but terrible interpretation of the evidence. There are chariots found in Scotland from the early iron age. The bell beakers also brought chariots to Britain and Ireland. It was proto Indo European and ye know it!
Why didn't you show the chariots they've actually found in archaeology? @@irishmyths
@@aidanmcmillan-dx8lq thanks for the comment! Decided to stay laser-focused on Ireland for this video, hence only discussing archaeological evidence found in Ireland
Niceo man. Just found your channel
Welcome! And I apologize in advance for my Irish pronunciation 😭 (especially with the older videos). I promise I'm working on it!
Egyptian Princess Scotia had used a chariot on her travels around Ireland and today's Scotland. Princess Scotia is said to be buried here in Ireland.
There are also many other stories or accounts that were given handed down through generation to generation.
Funnily enough I recently saw a video where a Classics Professor makes a similar point about chariot battles in the Iliad and the geography of Greece.
Oh interesting...you mean that the Greeks might not have used chariots either? I'd love to watch it, could you share a link?
I missed your name. What is your name?
Egyptian connection.
A student that writes and sells books. Give me a break yank.