BIRM-166’s Frozen Seedbank
Archived: 17 September 2026
Around 31,421 BCE, Ireland’s past is reconstructed from environmental rather than historical evidence. Derryvree, County Fermanagh, preserves a cold, ice-free tundra wetland between glacial advances, dated broadly to 36,900–31,700 years ago. Its plants, including bogbean, indicate pools and short productive seasons. Crag Cave records intermittent milder conditions. Castlepook Cave’s fauna, accumulated over long periods, includes mammoth, reindeer, giant deer and predators, demonstrating rich but fluctuating ecosystems. A possibly cut-marked reindeer femur may indicate Upper Palaeolithic human activity, although its context is insecure. No settlement or society is evidenced. Subsequent glaciation obscured remains, leaving a fragmentary record of landscapes and visitation.