In a peat bog in County Meath, Ireland, excavators have uncovered a 40-meter-long oak processional causeway dating to the late Bronze Age. At the end of the wooden path, they discovered a cache of four leather-and-bronze shields, leading to the hypothesis that the site was used for a warrior-based spring festival marking the transition from winter to the season of outdoor activity.
The shields, which appear to have been ritually "killed" by being pierced before deposition, represent a unique form of votive offering. This find rewrites the understanding of prehistoric Irish festival geography, showing that ritual paths were meticulously constructed to facilitate communal movements and sacred displays of status.