Archaeological excavations in Moneen Cave, the Burren, Co. Clare
Insights into Bronze Age and post-medieval life in the west of Ireland
By (author) Marion Dowd
Paperback (Published)
(November 2016)
ISBN: 9781784914547
8.07 x 11.46 inches
Price: $56.00
In stock
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.
Dr. Marion Dowd is a Lecturer in Prehistoric Archaeology at the Institute of Technology Sligo, Ireland. For two decades her research has focussed on the human use of caves in Ireland, and specifically the role of caves in prehistoric ritual and religion. She has directed numerous archaeological excavations in Irish caves, and has lectured and published widely on the subject. Her first book, The Archaeology of Caves in Ireland (Oxbow Books, 2015), won the Tratman Award 2015 and the Current Archaeology Book of the Year 2016. This current book is the result of excavations she directed in Moneen Cave, with a team composed of both archaeologists and cavers.
- By (author) Marion Dowd
Similar Books
Archaeological Excavations at Irmis Rka: An Investigation of a Multi-Layered Settlement in Southwest Georgia
Results from the 2020 Season: Early Bronze Age to Medieval Occupations
Catuvellaunia and Rome: Economic and Political Relations during the Final Decades Pre-conquest
The Role of Grain from Southeastern Britain and Its Potential for Maintenance of the Roman Military along the Frontier on the Rhine
Making and Meaning in the Bronze and Iron Ages
Chronology, Landscapes and Societies across Europe. Proceedings from the METALAGES2024 Colloquium (Florence, 23 October 2024)
Nuove scoperte e progressi nelle metodologie di rilievo e analisi dell’arte rupestre post-paleolitica in Italia
New discoveries and progress in the tracing and analysis methodologies of the post-Paleolithic rock art in Italy
Aspects of the Bronze Age in the Atlantic Archipelago and Beyond
Proceedings from the Belfast Bronze Age Forum, 9–10 November 2013
Eiszeit – Ice Age
Neue Ergebnisse zum Palaolithikum in Osterreich. New Results on the Palaeolithic in Austria
From the Hunt to the Cave
Neanderthal Subsistence at Kulna Cave during the Middle Palaeolithic Taubachian Phase: Analyses of the Faunal Remains from Level 11
Volume 4
Inheritance, Social Networks, Adaptation
Bronze and Early Iron Age Societies North of the Western Carpathians
Offa’s Dyke Journal: Volume 6 for 2024
A Journal for Linear Monuments, Frontiers and Borderlands Research
Rituals, Memory, and Societal Dynamics
Contributions to Social Archaeology: A Collection of Essays in Memory of Sharon Zuckerman
Volume 5
