Derryvree’s Periglacial Ponds
Archived: 17 September 2026
Although 31,384 BCE is a modern label rather than a recoverable Irish year, evidence from MIS 3 reveals fluctuating Ice-Age environments. At Derryvree, County Fermanagh, freshwater organic sediments between glacial tills, dated broadly to 36,900–31,700 calibrated years BP, record cold, treeless periglacial wetlands with seasonal liquid water and sparse vegetation. Cave evidence complements this local picture: Crag Cave indicates milder interstadials, while Castlepook Cave preserves fauna including mammoth, reindeer, giant deer, hyaena, Arctic fox and lemmings. A possibly human-made cutmark on reindeer bone suggests, but cannot prove, Upper Palaeolithic visits. Later glaciation buried or destroyed much evidence, requiring cautious conclusions.