This article is from page 14 of the 2013-08-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
AS THE hurlers of Clare and Limerick prepare to square up against each other this weekend, new evidence has emerged which suggests that an ancient common tribal link exists between the people of two counties.
An excavation of Moneen Cave in Ballyvaughan has provided experts with a fresh insight into life in the West of Ireland in prehistoric times. The significance of the cave was not identified until 2011, when a ancient body as well as a number of ceremonial artefacts were discovered by local cavers.
The cave has been the topic of ongoing research by Dr Marion Dowd of IT Sligo, who has just completed a report including extensive radiocarbon dating and ancient DNA analysis.
She has determined that the cave was a significant religious site during the Bronze Age for a period of 1,000 years between 2,000 BC and 1,000 BC – after which point Moneen Cave inexplicable fell out of use.
The oldest artefact found on site was a red deer antler mace-head, which has opened the possibility of shared religious belief existing in Clare And Limerick some 4,000 years ago.
“We found evidence of ritual food offerings such as oysters and joints of meat. We also found about 350 sherds of pottery dating to 1,000 BC,” said Dr Dowd.
“The antler mace-head dates to around 2,000 BC. It was probably a ceremonial object and is the most important artefact from the site. We initially thought it was the only antler mace-head in Ireland but just recently we have come across five other examples of this sort of artefact – two from north county Limerick, one from Lough Inchiquin [in Corofin, County Clare] as well as one from Antrim and one from Meath.
“Most of the mace-heads or hammer-heads seem to come from natural places that were sacred in the past – caves, rivers and lakes. We know, for example, that Lough Inchiquin was a significant site in Neolithic and Bronze Age times because significant numbers of stone axes were ritually deposited in it, as well as one of these antler mace-heads.
“Though only six of these objects are known in Ireland, there is a marked concentration in Clare and north Limerick.
“What we are seeing is that there may have been a significance regarding this type of artefact in the religious practices of people in this region; that within their belief system [the Bronze Age people of Clare and north Limerick], this sort of antler mace-head was a recognised ceremonial and religious object.”
Meanwhile, human remains discovered in the cave were identified as those of a teenage boy who lived in the late medieval period, dying in the sixteenth or seventeenth century.
“A find like this is totally unprecedented in a cave context” continued Marion.
“We know that this was a 14 to 16 year old with probable stunted growth. We also know from the bones that the person had a very poor diet and would have suffered from a number of infections.
“Ancient DNA analysis showed that the skeletal remains were those of a boy. What we don’t know, and what we will probably never know for certain, is what caused this child’s death.
“Could he have been a murder victim? I don’t think so, because there is no sign of trauma of the bones. The second possibility is that this was some sort of clandestine burial – someone who didn’t warrant burial in consecrated grounds. I don’t think this is the case either because the body would still have been buried in the Christian east-to-west position.
“The other possibility is that the boy came into the cave and died there. He may have been ill or injured. This is my personal opinion of what happened even though we will never know for sure.”
The excavation was funded by the National Monument Service.