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| The Burren, Co Clare |
Archaeology has the remarkable
ability to bring us face to face with the past. During the initial exploration
of Moneen Cave, outside Ballyvaughan village in the Burren, Co. Clare, by
cavers in June 2011, a human skull was found in the chamber. Subsequent
archaeological excavations led to the recovery of further cranial fragments at
the same location. The excavation of the site also revealed an artificial
rectangular niche and a disturbed human skeleton - minus the skull. Moneen Cave
lies close to the summit of Moneen Mountain at an altitude of 166m.
The discovery of the Moneen
skeleton brings into sharp focus the hardships endured by many, including
children, in the not too distant past. The small size of the skeleton led
archaeologists to think it was of a young child. Analysis of the teeth, however,
revealed that the remains belonged to someone who had died aged 14 to 16 years
old. DNA analysis confirmed the individual was a teenage boy. Investigations of
the skeleton revealed incredible details about the boy’s life.
Researchers found evidence of
stunted growth, almost certainly a result of malnutrition and hunger. The adolescent
measured 4 ft. 1 inch in height which is the equivalent of an average 8-year-old
child by modern standards. Scientists discovered evidence on the skeleton of
chronic infections and vitamin deficiencies. The bones also revealed evidence
of a poor diet with little meat but high in carbohydrates.
Radiocarbon dating in Queen’s
University Belfast revealed the teenager had died sometime between 1520 and
1670. There was no evidence to suggest that this individual suffered a violent
death. Historian Dr Ciarán Ó Murchadha has suggested that the most likely
timeframe for the boy’s death is during the Commonwealth period (1649-1660),
when Clare endured nearly two decades of famine, warfare, disease, and mass
human casualty.
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| Poulnabrone Dolmen, Co Clare |
Dr Marion Dowd, IT Sligo, who
investigated the Moneen Cave discovery, states:
“All the evidence from the
various specialists told us the same thing: this boy suffered periods of
extreme hunger and malnourishment every year, probably for the entire duration
of his short life. We do not know who he was, but there are a few details we
can be certain about. Isotopic analysis by Dr Thomas Kador at University
College London indicated the boy was local to the Burren. We can imagine he was
born and reared close to Ballyvaughan village.”
How the teenager came to be in
the cave is a mystery. According to Dr
Dowd:
“We found the remains within a
small rectangular niche in the wall of the cave. It was a small space, just
about big enough for a teenager to crawl into. The position of the bones
suggests the boy curled up in this small space and died there, alone in the cold.”
We can only speculate about the
boy’s final hours.
“Perhaps he was seeking refuge - this was a time of religious
persecution and political instability - or he may have been ill, or both.”
she added.
The earliest object found during
excavations in Moneen Cave was a broken flint flake of late Mesolithic or
Neolithic date. Archaeologists also discovered a Bronze Age antler hammerhead and
over 345 sherds of pottery, analysis of which indicated the presence of at
least six different undecorated vessels dated to c. 1100-1000 BC.
It is thought that the material
from Moneen Cave may represent votive deposits placed in the cave as some form
of religious act. The cave may have been regarded as a sacred place in the
landscape. It would appear that Moneen Cave was never occupied as no evidence
of habitation, hearths or domestic debris was found and the chamber was extremely
small and cramped.
"All in all, the excavation
provided a very poignant insight into a life that was harsh and ended
tragically for this boy in the not too distant past,” said Dr Dowd.
Whilst we may be shocked by the harsh
conditions suffered by a young boy in Co Clare in the mid-1600s, we should not forget
that about 795 million people, or one in nine of the World population, suffered
chronic undernourishment in 2014-2016 (Food and Agriculture Organisation, The State of Food Insecurity in the World
2015). Almost all the hungry people (780 million), live in developing
countries whilst there are 11 million people undernourished in developed
countries.
For more information please see:
Marion
Dowd (2013) About a boy: excavations at Moneen
Cave in the Burren. Archaeology Ireland, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Spring 2013), pp.
9-12 Published by: Wordwell Ltd.
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