Castlepook’s Palaeolithic Incision
Archived: 17 September 2026
Circa 31,365 BCE, Ireland lay within the climatically unstable Late Pleistocene, before the Last Glacial Maximum. Dates are approximate, reflecting calibrated radiocarbon uncertainties and disturbed cave deposits. Derryvree sediments show locally ice-free treeless tundra, wetlands and harsh periglacial conditions. Castlepook Cave yielded mammoth, reindeer, giant deer and carnivore remains, indicating intermittent animal access to open landscapes. A deeply incised reindeer femur may record stone-tool butchery, potentially Ireland’s earliest human trace, but cannot prove settlement. No securely associated tools, hearths, dwellings or burials survive. The evidence instead portrays a fragmented archive of changing ice, sea levels, habitats and possible human visits.