Maguirebridge’s Arctic Silts
Archived: 9 September 2026
At the notional date of 31,864 BCE, Ireland lay in the unstable MIS 3 phase before the Last Glacial Maximum, not beneath uniform ice. Lower seas altered coasts, while glaciers advanced unevenly. Derryvree deposits near Maguiresbridge preserve evidence of open, treeless tundra, wet hollows and severe periglacial conditions; other records show intermittent climatic amelioration. Castlepook Cave documents diverse cold-adapted fauna, including mammoth, reindeer, giant deer and hyaena, accumulated over extended periods. A cut-mark-like incision on a dated reindeer bone may indicate Upper Palaeolithic visitors, but disturbed contexts preclude certainty. No contemporary settlement exists; later glaciation and early excavation obscured traces.
