Something rocky this way comes

During the Irish Mesolithic (8000–4000 cal BC) a variety of raw materials were used by Ireland’s hunter-gatherer populations. Good quality raw materials, such as flint and chert, were associated with the Earlier Mesolithic (8000–6700 cal BC) while a diversification in raw materials was associated with the Later Mesolithic (6700–4000 cal BC) in Ireland. The majority of previous research into the raw materials used during the Mesolithic period has focused primarily on flint and secondarily on chert, and a significant proportion of this research was conducted in the northeast of Ireland. As a result of this, there is a gap in our archaeological knowledge relating to the variety of raw materials used during the Irish Mesolithic outside of this area. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the diversity of raw materials utilised in Leinster (a province stretching from the east to the southeast of Ireland) during the Mesolithic period, as well as the frequency of use of these lithologies, through the analysis of excavation reports from various Irish archaeological databases. This highlighted that approximately 13 different raw materials were used within Mesolithic Leinster. The four most commonly used materials (flint, chert, rhyolite and quartz) are then explored from a broader archaeological and geological perspective to further understand their selection and use.