Session VI: Prehistoric Mining – Primary Production and Reflection in Landscapes 3 Copper Axes, Stone Axes: Production and Exchange Sys- tems in the Chalcolithic of Britain and Ireland William O’Brien 1 1 University College Cork, Department of Archaeology, Cork City, Ireland, W.OBrien@ucc.ie This paper will briefly consider the interaction of lithic and metal production systems in Britain and Ireland in the mid-to-late third millennium BC. It will explore what impact the adoption of metal had on established systems of lithic production, and how the circulation of metal was influenced by existing exchange networks. Copper circulation from the Beaker mine at Ross Island, Co. Kerry will be considered in relation to contemporary stone axe producers in Ireland and Britain. Stone and Copper: Production Systems As in many parts of Europe, the Neolithic in Britain and Ireland was marked by large-scale use of polished stone axes that were mostly produced from primary bedrock sources. Examples include flint mines in southern England, notably in Sussex and Norfolk, as well as hard rock quarries in upland parts of western Britain (Fig. 1; Bradley & Edmonds, 1993; Barber et al. 1999). The latter have been identified through petrological analysis of stone axes, with source characterization of raw material leading in some instances to the actual quarry sites (McK Clough & Cummins, 1979; 1988). Stone axe production has also been identified in Ireland, including the output of porcellanite examples (petrology Group 9) from factory sources at Tievebulliagh and Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim, the use of porphyry on Lambay Island, and the more extensive use of local sedimentary rocks over much of western Ireland (Cooney & Man- dal, 1998). The Neolithic flint mines and rock quarries ranged from small, short-lived, operations serving local needs, to longer-term production tied into regional exchange networks, including such examples as Great Langdale in Cumbria (Group 6) and Graig Lwyd in north Wales (Group 7). Much of this production dates to the fourth millennium BC, with many sources contracting significantly by the mid-third millennium. A number did continue production to c. 2000 BC, including the Group 1/1a source centred on the Mount’s Bay area of Cornwall, as well as in- creased flint mining at Grimes Graves, Norfolk. Later production of stone axes in Britain and Ireland overlapped with the introduction of cop- per metallurgy during a short-lived Chalcolithic spanning the mid-to-late third millennium BC.