Elephant Hall Reexcavation
Archived: 27 September 2026
Around 30,567 BCE, Ireland experienced a cold, fluctuating Marine Isotope Stage 3 climate, near Greenland Interstadial 5.2. Castlepook Cave, County Cork, preserves important but disturbed pre-Last Glacial Maximum animal remains, including large grazers, predators and cold-adapted species. Wetland deposits elsewhere indicate varied open habitats, marshes and freshwater pools, not forest. Ireland was ecologically linked to Britain and continental Europe during favourable periods, although later glaciers destroyed much evidence. No securely dated human settlement, tools or burials exist. A possibly cut-marked reindeer bone may indicate brief human activity, but cannot demonstrate permanent occupation. Careful re-excavation seeks better dating and undisturbed contexts.