Isle of Man: History
In the later part of the Mesolithic Period c.8000 BC, the Isle of Man was cut off from the surrounding islands as sea levels rose following the end of the last ice age. Humans colonised it by travelling by sea some time before 6500 BC. The first occupants were hunter-gatherers and fishermen. Examples of their tools are kept at the Manx Museum.
The Neolithic Period marked the beginning of farming, and the people began to build megalithic monuments, such as Cashtal yn Ard, King Orry's Grave and Mull Hill. There was also the local Ronaldsway culture, unique to the Isle of Man, and the Bann culture.
During the Bronze Age, burial mounds became smaller. The people put bodies into stone-lined graves with ornamental containers. The Bronze Age burial mounds survived as long-lasting markers around the countryside.
The ancient Romans knew of the island and called it Insula Manavia. During the four centuries when Rome ruled the province of Britannia, the Roman military controlled the Irish Sea, providing safe passage of agricultural goods from the productive farms of Anglesey to Roman settlements at the English – Scottish frontier. Only a few Roman artefacts have been found on Man, suggesting a lack of strategic value. No Roman lighthouses or signal towers have yet been found on Man.
In the late Roman period, there was strong Irish (Gaelic) influence throughout the Irish Sea. Roman historian Orosius wrote in the 5th century that the Isle of Man was inhabited by the Irish. The first recorded language on the island was Archaic Irish, which is found on stone inscriptions in the Ogham alphabet, dating to around the 5th century. Ogham stones found in the south of Man are monolingual Irish (like Ballaqueeney Ogham Stone), while those in the north are bilingual Irish and Latin (like Knock y Doonee Ogham Stone). The Ballaqueeney stone seems to commemorate one of the Conailli, an Irish tribe. The Manx language is a Goidelic language that developed from Archaic Irish.
According to Manx tradition, Saint Patrick was responsible for converting the island to Christianity. He is said to have sent missionaries Maughold (Macc Cuill) and Germanus to the island in the 5th century. Muirchú's 7th century Life of Patrick says that when they arrived, there was already a Christian community led by Conindrus and Rumilus, which seem to be Romano-British names. There are more than 200 small chapels called keeills (from Irish cill) on the island, which were built in the first few centuries after Christianization.
From the 7th century, there is evidence of Celtic Britons on the Isle of Man, and possible Brittonic control over the island.
The island came under the control of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria during the reign of king Edwin of Northumbria. He then launched raids from Man into Ireland. How much influence the Northumbrians exerted on Man is unknown, but very few place names on Man are of Old English origin.
Vikings began raiding the island in the late 8th century and later settled there. In around 914, Man came under the rule of a series of Norse-Gaelic kings, beginning with Ragnall ua Ímair of the Uí Ímair or Ivar dynasty. It became part of the Kingdom of the Isles, also known as the "Kingdom of Mann and the Isles" (Old Norse: Suðreyjar, 'Southern Isles', anglicized 'Sodor'). …