Castlepook’s Marked Femur
Archived: 15 September 2026
c. 31,650 BCE cannot be identified as a discrete Irish event, but falls within the climatically unstable MIS 3 interstadial landscape preceding the Last Glacial Maximum. Derryvree, County Fermanagh, preserves evidence of an ice-free, open tundra-like wetland interval, although its broad calibrated dates cannot pinpoint a year. Castlepook Cave, County Cork, contains MIS 3 fauna including reindeer, mammoth and predators, demonstrating cold-adapted animal movement. A marked reindeer femur may record stone-tool butchery and a brief human visit around 31,000 BCE. However, no associated tools, hearths, settlement, human remains or reliable route evidence exists; later glaciation severely damaged the archaeological record.