Awbeg Limestone Corridor
Archived: 16 September 2026
Around 31,597 BCE, present-day Ireland formed part of a low-sea-level, climatically volatile north-west European landmass during Marine Isotope Stage 3. It was not yet fully glaciated, although worsening conditions preceded later ice-sheet expansion. Fermanagh sub-till sediments indicate cold, open, treeless terrain with wetlands, freshwater and hardy vegetation. Castlepook Cave’s mixed faunal deposits document mammoth, reindeer, giant deer, bears, hyaenas and other cold-adapted animals, but cannot reconstruct one moment or locality. Cut marks on a reindeer bone may indicate a brief Upper Palaeolithic human visit, though this remains disputed. No settlements, institutions or ritual life are known; glaciation erased much evidence.