Killuragh cave
The Killuragh Cave ( English Killuragh cave , Irish pluais na Cille Iúraí ) is located on the eastern edge of a limestone reef more than 60 m above sea level , south of Cappamore in the townland of Killuragh ( Irish to Chill Iúrach ) in County Limerick in Ireland . The steep slope is up to 10 m high and at one point there is a flat terrace about two meters below the summit . The entrances to the cave system are at the north end of the terrace. The eastern embankment stands over the floodplain of the Mulkear River.
The cave was examined for the first time by the then landowner. It acquired archaeological importance when a hollow scraper and a polished stone ax made of flint were found together with bones . The bones and the stone ax were found about 0.60 m below the surface at that time in the small intersection area between the entrance and the main chamber. The artifacts, which also included human and animal bones as well as fragments of burned material and stains of charcoal, were given to the National Museum of Ireland. As a result, excavations of the debris in and in front of the cave were carried out.
There are two entrances to the main chamber, where most of the relics were discovered in situ . The chamber is about 2.0 m long, 1.0-1.5 m wide and a little over 1.0 m high. Side corridor A is located in the south of the main chamber and after a few meters becomes too narrow for an examination. Side passage B runs as an extension of entrance 2 from the main chamber to the west into the hill and is also very narrow. Other collapsed and backfilled accesses were found both on the terrace and at the lower end of the embankment. An investigation of the hill in the hope of evidence of a more extensive cave system has been carried out by Geoarc without success.
The 1993 investigation focused on the main chamber. She showed this sequence of layers:
- up to 0.2 m loose soil.
- up to 1.0 m thick layer of gray-brown mud. This layer had a layer of blackened stones at the base. The archaeological material was concentrated within this layer.
- The two lower layers of silt, sand, and clay contained no bones or charcoal.
The excavation revealed animal and human bones as well as a weathered flint blade. The excavation of the investigation remained on the terrace and the landowner made archaeological finds in it from 1994. He found a number of potsherds and flint as a blade, microliths, scrapers and discounts . After transferring the material to the National Museum, he removed most of it, with several objects found in the immediate vicinity of the cave.
A second excavation of the cave system and its surroundings and an examination of the spoil with the help of water and sieves were decided. Another microlite and small amounts of bone fragments were found, including that of a giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus). The aim of the second excavation in 1996 was to find evidence of activity related to the cave. Test trenches were dug inside and in the immediate vicinity of the cave and in the area of the terrace, but they did not produce any significant results. There is evidence that material was washed away. The results can be summarized as follows:
- A late glacial phase, which is documented by the bones of the giant deer, which died out at this time, is not documented for the cave itself.
- An early Mesolithic phase represented by microliths and human remains. Human bones from two individuals have been dated to the early Mesolithic. The microliths consist of mostly narrow, obliquely truncated objects.
- The late Mesolithic period, from which artefacts are largely absent, is represented by two radiocarbon dates.
- The Neolithic Age is represented by two radiocarbon dates and two hollow scrapers.
- The Bronze Age seems to be represented by ceramics (39 sherds) and four radiocarbon dates.
The human remains from the cave are important additions about the Mesolithic people. The Killuragh finds have complemented the early Mesolithic cremation discoveries near the banks of the Shannon (Collins and Coyne 2003).
literature
- T. Collins, F. Coyne F .: Fire and Water - Early Mesolithic cremations at Hermitage , County Limerick ', Archeology Ireland. Vol. 17. 2003 pp. 24-27.
- J. O'Shaughnessy: Killuragh, Co. Limerick , In: I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 1993. Wordwell Ltd. Bray 1994.
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 35 ′ 45.7 " N , 8 ° 19 ′ 17" W.