Archaeological excavations in Moneen Cave, the Burren, Co. Clare: Insights into Bronze Age and post-medieval life in the west of Ireland

Description

In 2011, cavers exploring a little-known cave on Moneen Mountain in County Clare in the west of Ireland discovered part of a human skull, pottery and an antler implement. An archaeological excavation followed, leading to the discovery of large quantities of Bronze Age pottery, butchered animal bones and oyster shells. The material suggests that Moneen Cave was visited intermittently as a sacred place in the Bronze Age landscape. People climbed the mountain, squeezed through the small opening in the cave roof, dropped down into the chamber, and left offerings on a large boulder that dominates the internal space. The excavation also resulted in the recovery of the skeletal remains of an adolescent boy who appears to have died in the cave in the 16th or 17th century. Scientific analyses revealed he had endured periods of malnutrition and ill health, providing insight into the hardships faced by many children in post-medieval Ireland. Table of Contents Part I The site, background and archaeological excavation 1. Introduction 2. Geology and geomorphology - David Drew 3. History of investigation 4. Cave morphology 5. Excavation and post-excavation methodology 6. Stratigraphic report Part II Excavation results and specialist analyses 7. Radiocarbon dates 8. Mammalian faunal remains - Fiona Beglane 9. Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) analysis of four butchered animal bones - Keri Rowsell and Matthew Collins 10. Bird and fish bones - Sheila Hamilton-Dyer 11. Late Bronze Age oyster (Ostrea edulis) shells - Rory Connolly 12. Charcoal 13. Early Bronze Age antler hammerhead/macehead - Ruth F. Carden 14. Middle/Late Bronze Age pottery - Elaine Lynch and Helen Roche 15. Post-medieval human skeletal remains - Catriona McKenzie 16. DNA analysis of the human skeletal remains - Mike Taylor 17. Metagenomic analysis and mitochondrial genome reconstruction of the post-medieval individual from Moneen Cave - Åshild J. Vågene, Johannes Krause and Kirsten I. Bos 18. Isotopic analysis of the human skeletal remains - Thomas Kador 19. Analysis of Growth Recovery Lines (Harris lines) in the human skeletal remains - Fran O’Keeffe 20. Historical context of the adolescent boy from Moneen Cave - Ciarán Ó Murchadha iHis 21. Hints of an Early Mesolithic and/or Neolithic presence Part III Discussion and interpretation: Moneen Cave in context 22. An Early Bronze Age horizon: an antler hammerhead/macehead and a pig pelvis 23. Middle and Late Bronze Age deposits 24. Moneen Cave within the wider Bronze Age landscape of the Burren 25. A post-medieval boy 26. Public archaeology and Moneen Cave 27. Future work 28. References Appendix 1 Context register Appendix 2 Finds register Appendix 3 Mammalian faunal remains by context - Fiona Beglane Appendix 4 List of human bones - Catriona McKenzie