Archaeologists find bones of a Stone Age child and an adult in tiny cave

Knocknarea Mountain with Maeve's Cairn on Top

The Irish News edition of 28^th February 2014, reported that archaeologists at IT Sligo had found bones of a Stone Age child and an adult in a tiny cave high on Knocknarea Mountain. Radiocarbon dating has shown that they are 5,500 years old, which makes them among the earliest human bones found in the county. While this discovery is very exciting it is not entirely surprising, given the rich archaeological heritage of the county. The find provides important new evidence of Knocknarea’s Neolithic past and a prehistoric practice known as “excarnation” or de-fleshing.

Researchers discovered a total of 13 small bones and bone fragments in an almost inaccessible cave in November 2013. Three of the bones were from the child aged 4 to 6 years and 10 were from an adult aged 30 – 39 years. They included foot bones and fragments of skull. It was not possible to establish gender.

Archaeologists believe that the adult had been placed in the cave about 300 years before the child, who died about 5,200 years ago. The small number of bones and their small size suggest that the cave was an excarnation site. This process involved a corpse being placed in a cave and, after decomposition, the dry bones being transferred elsewhere. Fragments were sometimes accidentally left behind.

Dr Marion Dowd of IT Sligo is quoted as saying:  “When people died in prehistory, their corpses were sometimes laid out in caves. After one or two years, when the flesh and soft tissue had decomposed, the dry bones were collected and removed to another location.”

The final resting place of these ancient remains will probably never be known but this area of Sligo is rich in megalithic burial sites. Maeve’s Cairn, also known as Miosgan Meadhbha, is situated on the top of Knocknarea Mountain and must be a possibility. It has not been excavated but archaeologists believe that it belongs to the Irish megalithic tradition and dates from c3,200 BC - around the time the remains were deposited in the cave. It is the largest monument in the region and comparable to the Boyne Valley monuments in size and age.

Knocknarea Mountain overlooks Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, which is the largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland. It is also among the country’s oldest megalithic cemeteries with dates ranging between 4,500 – 3,500 BC. The meaning and function of these early stone monuments remain one of the mysteries of archaeology. It is known that the Megalithic tradition died out about 5,000 years ago when it was at its peak.

The earliest dates from the excavated tombs at Carrowmore centre around 5,000 BC with the latest about 3,000 BC. Archaeologists believe that most of the monuments were erected and used between 4,300 and 3,500 BC.

Listoghil Megalithic Tomb - Carrowmore

It is known that during the building of Listoghil, the main monument at Carrowmore, ritual activities took place involving extensive fires and these have been dated to 3,650 – 3,450 BC. A number of pits had also been dug during these ritual activities. Two cremations containing the remains of several humans were deposited in the circle behind the southern and western kerbstones and these were dated to 3,550 BC. The recovery of a piece of human skull dated to 3,500 BC shows that inhumations took place within the building period.

The discovery of 5,500 year old human bones in a cave on Knocknarea Mountain reminds us of the importance of Co. Sligo in pre-historic times and provides evidence for the practice of “excarnation” or de-fleshing prior to final burial.

The Derrymaquirk Bog Bodies

In 1959 the skeleton of a young woman, the skull of an infant, approximately two years old together with some animal bones (sheep/goat, dog and antler), were found in a bog in the townland of Derrymaquirk on the eastern side of Lough Gara, Co Roscommon. A large stone had been placed on the stomach of the woman and a piece of wood lay under her head.  Archaeologists believe that the piece of antler may have been significant in terms of the religious beliefs of the time. This burial has been dated to between 750 - 200 BC. Unlike other bog bodies which appear to have been placed in bog pools, the Derrymaquirk remains were in a cut grave and archaeologists believe that this was a formal burial rather than the disposal of victims of sacrifice.

Other examples of human remains similar to those at Derrymaquirk have been found in bog areas in the west of Ireland. The bodies of a man and child were found in Sheegeragh townland, Co. Roscommon and a deer antler was found nearby. A human skeleton found in the bog at Kinnakinnelly townland, Co. Galway, was also found with deer bones and dated from the Iron Age. Another bog body from Gallagh, Co. Galway, was dated from the same period.

Archaeologists believe that the siting of the Derrymaquirk grave in boggy ground may have been coincidental.  The Derrymaquirk grave is a boundary burial of a type known as a ferta. Many such burials have been identified on sites that are not boggy in nature. By locating cemeteries on boundaries during the Iron Age and early medieval period, it was believed that the ancestors interred there would act as guardians and protect the people. Burials in such cemeteries regularly contain red deer bones and antlers placed there as votive offerings.

Hundreds of bog bodies have been discovered in the boglands of Europe over the last few centuries, of which about 130 have been found in Ireland. The cold, acidic and anaerobic conditions in peat bogs preserve the bodies. The skin and internal organs are frequently well preserved while the bones are often dissolved by the acid. Some of the human remains discovered show signs of torture and execution, with evidence of hanging, strangulation, stabbing and bludgeoning. The majority of Irish bog bodies date from the Iron Age

More recent discoveries of Irish bog bodies are Clonycavan Man, Oldcroghan Man and Cashel man. These have provided important new insights into the ancient practice of disposing of bodies in bogs and have received extensive coverage in the media.

Clonycavan Man was discovered in 2003 on the border between Co. Meath and Co. Westmeath and has been dated to 392 – 201 BC. He was between 25 – 40 years of age and had been ritually killed. The nipples of Clonycavan Man had been partly cut.

The body of Oldcroghan Man (362 – 175 BC) was also found in 2003 while digging a drain along a parish boundary that once formed the boundary of the ancient tuatha of Croghan, Co Offaly. As in the case Clonycavan Man, circular cuts were visible around the upper parts of both nipples but it is not certain whether these occurred before or after death.

In ancient Ireland, sucking a king’s nipples was a gesture of submission and a means of placing oneself under the protection of the king. Archaeologists believe that the cutting of the nipples of Oldcroghan Man was part of the ritual in which he was ‘decommissioned’ from the role of king.

Cashel Man was found in 2011 in Cashel, Co. Laois and dated to 2000 BC. It is believed to be the oldest fleshed bog body to have been found in Europe.

The boglands of Ireland have provided us with a unique insight into the lives and beliefs of our ancient ancestors.

Following in the Footsteps of Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick

Most school children know that Saint Patrick came to Ireland in the year 432 AD. We know from ecclesiastical history that he travelled to the west of Ireland.  After visiting Elphin and Croghan, he came around the north of Loch Techet, the ancient name for Lough Gara, through the present townlands of Cuppenagh and Templeronan . It is said that he went to Gregraidhe of Loch Techet. The Gregraidhe (horse people) or Gregory comprised the baronies of Coolavin in Sligo and Costello in Mayo. According to an entry in the Annals of Tigernach (AU 665) Cummeni,  Abbot of Clonmacnois, was of the Gregraige of Loch Techet. 

Patrick’s two ‘Lives’ by Muirchu  and Tirechan written possibly between 661-668 and 665-680 claim to be using oral tradition from known people such as St Ultan of Ardbraccan, Co Meath. Both ‘Lives’ are preserved in the ‘Book of Armagh’. The ‘Tripartite’ Life (‘3 parts’, for public reading) is dated c 895-901.

St. Patrick spent many years in Ireland although exactly how long we do not know. During this time he travelled extensively. He writes: ‘I journeyed among you, and everywhere, for your sake, often in danger, even to the outermost parts beyond which there is nothing, places where no one had ever arrived to baptise or ordain clergy or confirm the people’. When the tribe responded to the Gospel, an enclosure would be set aside, with boundaries and ‘termon’ crosses, sometimes with a ditch, sometimes with a wall, clearly marking out to everyone that the area was sacred. Within it a tiny church of wattle and daub would be built.

Many monasteries were built at tribal meeting places or on tribal boundaries.  As monastic communities grew they attracted a resident local community. The monasteries provided for the spiritual needs of local families and taught the children. The monastery and the village grew together. The monks undertook tasks such as the creating and copying of literature and highly specialised metal-ware.

This was a time when tribal chiefs donated land for monasteries and the abbots appointed by them were still to a degree controlled by those chiefs. The organisation of Irish society at this time was rural and based on the extended family. For example, a family might live in isolated farmsteads, defended by ditches and banks evidenced by the large number of ringforts found throughout Ireland. Several extended families formed a clan, which in turn, formed a small kingdom.  Each clan had its warriors, druids and slaves. Neighbouring tribes were often related by blood. The main occupation was cattle-breeding and cattle raids were common. Fighting and violence were prevalent in this tribal society.

An account of St Patrick’s missionary activities was written sometime around 680AD by Tirechan, the Bishop of North Mayo. According to Tirechan, Patrick came from the plain of Mirteach, between Castlerea and Ballaghaderreen, to a place called Drummut Cerrigi or Drumad of the Ciarraige. This is now the townland of Drumad in the Parish of Tibohine. It is said that he dug a well here and no stream went into it or came out of it, but it was always full. The well was named Bithlan (i.e. ever full). 

Here, the saint found two brothers, Bibar and Lochru, the sons of Tamanchend, fighting about the division of their father's lands. St. Patrick reconciled them by a miracle, and he blessed them and made peace between them.  The brothers gave their land to Patrick and he founded a church there.

Patrick then went to Aileach Esrachta which was at Telach Liac or Telach na Cloch, which later became known as Tullaganrock in the Parish of Kilcolman. It is said that local people were afraid of the stranger and the eight or nine men accompanying him, so they decided to kill him. The crowd was restrained by a brave man named Hercait of the race of Nath i. Hercait and his son Feradach were babtised and Feradach joined St Patrick. Patrick gave Feradach a new name calling him Sachail. He eventually became bishop and was associated with a famous church called Basilica Sanctorum which is now known as Baslik - a parish between Castlerea and Tulsk.

The area south of the Lough Gara was called Airteach in the early medieval period.  Situated in this area are the remains of an early ecclesiastical site, Kilnamanagh. This site is classified as an early church by Gwynn and Hadcock (1970, 394), who make a reference to Tírechan’s Life of Patrick and connect the church with St Patrick and Bishop Do-bonne (Dabone).

He afterwards founded Cill-Atrachta, in Gregraidhe. St Attracta, Talan’s daughter, received the veil from Patrick's hand. Patrick left a teisc and chalice with Atracht, Today, this church, founded by St. Patrick for St. Attracta, is known as Killaraght. The Feast of Saint Attracta is celebrated throughout the diocese of Achonry on the 11th August.

St. Patrick visited the area of Boyle (Mainistir na Búille). Here, it is said that he was received badly, the people gave a deaf ear to his instructions and even carried off his horses. The Saint denounced their hardness of heart, and having a foreknowledge of their future punishment said: "Your seed shall serve the seed of your brother for ever." 

Patrick decided to revisit some of the churches which he had founded in Tyrerril and Gregraighe, and to preach the Gospel again to the people dwelling on the river Buill (Boyle) and through Moylurg. While crossing a ford on the river, his chariot was upset and he was thrown into the waters. This ford was called Ath Carbuid, or the ford of the chariot (vadum quadrigae).

The area around Lough Gara is rich in monastic sites including: Monasteraden, Templeronan, Killaraght and Kilnamanagh. Other ecclesiastical nearby are: Cloonshanville and Tibohine to the south; Kilcolman to the west and Carrowntemple and Kilfree in the north.  Not all of these Early Christian sites can be directly linked to St. Patrick but his influence has been enormous and lasting, despite the many challenges of the twenty-first century.

Exploring Monasteraden's Ecclesiastical Roots

The village of Monasteraden (Mainistir Aodain) is believed to have got its name from an early ecclesiastical site founded there by Saint Aidan. However, this saint should not be confused with the Saint Aidan who founded a monastery on the island of Lindisfarne,  Northumbria, in the seventh century.

According to Gwynn and Hadcock (1988, 398), this is an early monastery that was probably founded by Aedhan O Fiachrach (d. 570: AU). Ui Fiachrach descended from Fiachra brother of Brion. There were two chief branches – those of the north and those of the south – the latter otherwise known as Cenelnaeda. The northern Ui Fiachrach occupied the greater part of Co Mayo and part of Co Sligo.

Monasteraden Graveyard, which overlooks Lough Gara, is unique in that it is one of a few circular graveyards still in use in Ireland. It is thought to contain the remains of an old church although the exact location is not known. The only mention of a church comes from 1836 when it was described as ‘the ruins of an old church’.  The graveyard and early ecclesiastical site are surrounded by a stone wall, resembling a large cashel.

This graveyard also contains a souterrain or underground chamber which consists of a drystone-built passage measuring roughly five metres in length, 1.5 metres wide and 1.08 metres high.  It has been suggested that these structures served as food stores or hiding places during times of strife. In 1985-6 a circular drystone-buit kiln was discovered within the enclosure. A quantity of charcoal and charred cereal grains were found in the kiln. The kiln was sealed and a stone seat now marks the location. The Monasteraden Graveyard also contains what archaeologists call a ballaun stone. This is a lozenge-shaped stone with a shallow depression in the centre of the upper surface. Such stones are frequently associated with early Christian sites.

We know from ecclesiastical history that as Saint Patrick travelled west and, after visiting Elphin and Croghan, he came around the north of Lough Gara through the present townlands of Cuppenagh and Templeronan.  It is said that St Patrick went to Gregraidhe of Loch Techet  which was the ancient name of Loch Ui Ghadhra (i.e. O’Gara’s Lake) or, as it is known today, Lough Gara. The Gregraidhe or Gregory comprised the baronies of Coolavin in Sligo and Costello in Mayo. The O’Garas were driven out of their lands by the Jordans and Costellos in the 14th century and settled Coolavin. They erected a castle at Moygara or Muy O’Gara.

To the east of Lough Gara are the remains of the early medieval monastery of St Attracta. The complex consists of a graveyard, a church and a holy well. The monastery is mentioned in early medieval sources and is believed to have been founded in the sixth century. The saint is said to have been the daughter of the druid Talan Cathbadin, son of Cathbadh of the Gregraidh of Loch Techet. Attracta received the blessing of St Patrick. The Feast of Saint Attracta is celebrated throughout the diocese of Achonry on the 11th August. The monastery of St Aedhan, like the ecclesiastical site of St Attracta in Killaraght, is located on what was the boundary between the living settlement at the tme and areas considered important in earlier periods.

Monasteraden is one of several monastic sites around Lough Gara including: Templeronan, Killaraght and Kilnamanagh. Other ecclesiastical nearby are: Cloonshanville and Tibohine to the south; Kilcolman to the west and Carrowntemple and Kilfree in the north.  Sadly, nothing of the old church is visible today.

Children’s Burial Ground: Creggan, Co. Roscommon

Mattie Lennon, writing in Ireland’s Own magazine recently, described a burial ground for unbaptised children off the coast of County Donegal.  It is called Oilean na Marbh (the island of the dead). It reminded me of the children’s burial ground I knew as a child growing up in County Roscommon.

This graveyard, known locally as Caltragh, is located within a ringfort in the townland of Creggan near Ballaghaderreen. It consists of a rectangular grass-covered area approximately 21m x 14m. The ringfort is roughly circular measuring 57m x 53m and is partly surrounded by a drystone wall. Mature deciduous trees are growing inside the perimeter making it visible for some distance.

In the background: Children's Burial Ground
Creggan, County Roscommon

Children’s burial grounds are thought to have been first established in the medieval period.  In the fifth century AD, Augustine of Hippo declared that all unbaptised people were guilty of original sin. This prompted a debate in the Church which was to last for several centuries.  

From the sixth century the burial of unbaptised individuals in consecrated ground was forbidden. In the twelfth century the church declared that all newborn children had to be baptised. Parents had to bury their unbaptised children in alternative unconsecrated burial grounds.  As Mattie Lennon points out, we can scarcely imagine the heartbreak of the women in Ireland who were left to grieve silently as their babies were taken away at night to be buried secretly.  

Although children’s burial grounds are normally associated with stillborn and unbaptised children, others were buried there including people who committed suicide, mentally disabled, the shipwrecked, criminals, famine victims, strangers and even women who had not been ‘churched’ after childbirth.

These burial grounds are frequently associated with earlier monuments such as early/medieval ecclesiastical sites and ringforts. It is not unusual to find ogham stones at these sites. Some experts have noted that children’s burial grounds are often located close to field, lakeshore, seashore or townland boundaries. Archaeologists have suggested that this choice of location may have served to separate these individuals from ‘normal’ society.

The County Roscommon Graveyard Survey carried out in 2005 identified a total of 287 graveyards in the county. Children’s burial grounds accounted for 25% of the total surveyed. Over half the graveyards in the county are recorded on the Record of Monuments and Places. This is important as it means that these sites are protected under the National Monuments Act 1930-2004. They are nearly always listed on ordnance survey maps as Cillin/ Killeen, Lios/Lisheen, Caltragh, Teampaillin, or simply as Children’s Burial Ground.

Individual burials are frequently marked by small stones placed around the margins of the graves with the remains interred in a cist-like structure. Wooden coffins were often used while some individuals were wrapped in shrouds fixed with pins. In some respects, these burials were similar to those in contemporary consecrated burial grounds and simple stone grave-markers are still to be seen in old graveyards.

It is now believed that many of these ancient burial grounds are much older than previously thought. An excavation of a cillin in Tonybaun, County Mayo in 2003, identified a total of 248 burials of which 147 were infants and 23 were children aged between two and six years. None of the burials were earlier than the fifteenth century.

This excavation revealed that many of the bodies had been placed in wooden coffins. Some 55 adult burials were identified providing evidence of the practice of using such burial grounds for adults who were not considered eligible for burial in consecrated ground. The presence of items such as shrouds, pins, buttons and a small crucifix show that care and religious observance was associated with these burials.

In 2005/06 archaeologists excavated a children’s burial ground at Carrowkeel, County Galway. This site comprised an early medieval enclosure ditch with a cemetery in the eastern half. The remains of 158 individuals, mainly children, were identified with the burials taking place over 800 years from the seventh to the fifteenth century.

In 2004, Pope John Paul 11 appointed a Commission to study Limbo and it reported its findings in 2007. The report, signed by Pope Benedict XV1, stated that it reflected a ‘restrictive view of salvation’ and that it was reasonable to hope that the souls of unbaptised infants are admitted to Heaven by a merciful God.

As Mattie Lennon states, such burial places serve as a reminder of our unenlightened past and a monument to centuries of heartbreak.  For this reason, children’s burial grounds deserve to be preserved, suitably marked and maintained.

Drumanone Portal Tomb

Drumanone Portal Tomb - Co. Roscommon

Drumanone portal tomb or Dolmen is situated three kilometres west of Boyle town, Co. Roscommon, off the R294. It is one of the largest monuments of its type in Ireland and is thought to have been built sometime before 2000BC. This tomb lies some 300m north of the Boyle River close to Lough Gara. In order to view the tomb you have to cross the railway line with care ensuring that you close the gate behind you.

There are approximately 174 of these monuments in the country with the majority located in the northern half of the island. The tombs generally consist of two large boulders or portal-stones defining the entrance and a back-stone, all of which support the roof-stone or capstone.

Archaeologists believe that our ancient ancestors may have used a combination of wooden rollers, ropes and man/animal power to manoeuvre the giant stones into position. Ramps made of earth and stone may have been used to haul the large roof stones into place.

The rectangular chamber of the Drumanone tomb measures 2.2m x 1.95m and faces north east. The capstone measures approximately 4m x 3m. The sides of the chamber each consist of a single stone. The capstone has slipped back from the two portal stones forming the entrance and now looks like some kind of Stone Age satellite dish. The western stone has been tilted over by the weight of the slipped capstone and is now supported by a steel girder. The 1.2m space between the portals is closed by the door slab which is almost as tall as the portals. It is thought that these large stones may have come from the Curlew Mountains. A slight grass-covered cairn surrounds the stones

The Drumanone tomb was excavated by archaeologists in 1954 and was found to contain a considerable amount of cremated bone, indicating that the tomb was used to bury several individuals. A small polished stone axe was also found which archaeologists believe came from the Tievebulliagh Axe Factory in Co. Antrim. It is estimated that some 133 such stone axes were found along the shores of nearby Lough Gara. Other finds from this site include two flint flakes and a chert core scraper. Archaeologists believe that the presence of ‘Bann’ flakes at Drumanone may suggest the re-use of the site of an earlier structure. The land on which the tomb was built might, for example, have been a place for meeting or religious activity.

Poulnabrone Portal Tomb - Co. Clare

The iconic megalithic portal tomb at Poulnabrone in Co. Clare, one of Ireland’s most photographed archaeological sites, has revealed a wealth of information about the lives and burial customs of Ireland’s first farming communities. Here, archaeologists uncovered the remains of twenty two people, sixteen adults and six children, within the interior of the tomb including males and females.  It is thought that the bodies were firstly stored or buried elsewhere until they decomposed. The bones were then moved to the portal tomb for final burial.

Examination of the skeletal remains has given archaeologists an insight into the lives of the people who lived and built these tombs in the Neolithic or New Stone Age. They appear to have lived relatively short lives with only one person being older than 40. The arthritic condition of many of the neck and shoulder bones indicates that they worked hard and were used to carrying heavy loads. Examination of the teeth revealed that they suffered from periods of either malnutrition or infections, especially between the ages of three and six.

Archaeologists also found evidence that some of those buried at the Poulnabrone site had suffered violence.  One body, for example, had sustained a depressed fracture of the skull, possibly caused by being hit by a stone. In the case of another body, a fragment of a flint, probably an arrow head was found embedded in a hip bone.  It is believed that the Poulnabrone burials were deposited over a period of 600 years, between 3800 and 3200 BC, suggesting that the monument was probably an important burial place where only certain members of the community were allowed to be interred.

Whilst archaeologists do not have an actual date for the building of the Drumanone tomb it is believed to be over 4,000 years old and is an impressive example of its type. The findings from Poulnabrone and other similar sites give us an insight into the lives of the people who built Drumanone.

Reference: SMR Number RO005-105 (Archaeological Survey of Ireland, Record Details) on http://www.archaeology.ie. Compiled by Michael Moore. Posted24 August 2010

Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, Co. Sligo

Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery - Tomb 51

Today, Ireland is experiencing unprecedented austerity measures, farmers are unable to feed their cattle and fish stocks are depleted. However, the situation was not always so dire. Over 7,000 years ago, the rich marine resources around our shores enabled our ancestors to develop a more settled way of life even as hunter-gatherers and to, eventually, become some of Western Europe’s first farmers.

More than 6,000 years ago, the Stone Age peoples of Western Europe began to build stone monuments over their dead as tombs and ceremonial places. This was the beginning of what has become known as the megalithic tradition of the Neolithic period. The reason for this cultural change in Neolithic Europe was largely unknown for many years.

Carrowmore, Co. Sligo, is the largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland and is also among the country’s oldest, with dates ranging between 4,500 – 3,500 BC. Archaeologists have recorded over sixty tombs of which some thirty are visible today. The oldest tombs at Carrowmore were built more than 2,000 years before the pyramids of Egypt. The idea of erecting megalithic tombs developed within Stone Age societies of Western Europe in the fifth millennium BC during the transition between the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.

Archaeologists believe that originally there may have been a 100 and, possibly, more tombs in the Carrowmore cemetery. However, over the past 300 years, quarrying and land clearance have destroyed many of them. In his survey of the area in 1837, George Petrie marked and numbered 68 sites at Carrowmore.

Carrowmore megalithic cemetery covers an area of about one square kilometre.  Most of the tombs have been arranged in an oval-shaped layout and the entrances tend to face the central part of the cemetery. The meaning and function of these early stone monuments remain one of the mysteries of archaeology. It is known that the Megalithic tradition died out about 5,000 years ago when it was at its peak. Well known monuments such as Stonehenge, Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, were all built around this time.

There are some 1,500 recorded Megalithic monuments in Ireland. These ancient monuments have been classified into four types: court tombs, portal tombs, passage tombs and wedge tombs. Cremation was the most common way of disposing of the dead in passage tombs. Inhumation was mainly used in the case of portal tombs.

No passage tombs have been recorded at Carrowmore and only Tomb 51, which is also known as Listoghil, shows the remains of a cairn. This tomb stands at the highest point of the Carrowmore cemetery. It is 34m in diameter making it the largest tomb in the Carrowmore complex. It was partly excavated in the 1990s by the Swedish archaeologist Goran Burenhult.

Tomb 51 - Central Chamber

The central chamber was constructed as a rectangular cist or chamber and covered with a flat, limestone roof-slab. In 1993, prehistoric artwork was discovered on the front of the roof-slab.

During the building of this tomb, ritual activities took place involving extensive fires and these have been dated to 3,650 – 3,450 BC. A number of pits had also been dug during these ritual activities. Two cremations containing the remains of several humans were deposited in the circle behind the southern and western kerbstones and these were dated to 3,550 BC. The recovery of a piece of human skull dated to 3,500 BC shows that inhumations took place within the building period.

Excavation of Tomb No. 4 revealed 32 kilos of cremated human bone which had been deposited in the

Tomb 4

central chamber and in two secondary cists. It is believed that this amount of bone fragments represents as many as 50 individuals. The main grave goods recovered from this tomb were mushroom-headed antler pins which had been burnt together with the dead bodies on the funeral pyre. The secondary cists also contained stone beads.

Typical artefacts from the Carrowmore megalithic cemetery consist of mushroom-headed antler pins, stone/clay balls, beads and pendants. Archaeologists believe that the earliest monuments were built by people who were mainly hunter-gatherers but were turning to cattle breeding. The rich marine resources in this area made it possible for people to settle down on the peninsula and develop a relatively stable settlement pattern as hunter-gatherers, probably as early as 8,000 – 9,000 years ago (7,000 – 6,000 BC). Fishing, hunting for seal and other mammals, and the gathering of shellfish contributed to the development of a social structure normally found among farmers.

The tombs in the Carrowmore complex may have been signs of prestige in this ancient society or may have marked the tribe’s ceremonial and burial place. Each tomb probably belonged to a separate clan or extended family. With the passing of time, the settled pattern of life, together with the growing population, required a more active system of food production and farming was born.

The earliest dates from the excavated tombs at Carrowmore centre around 5,000 BC with the latest about 3,000 BC. Archaeologists believe that most of the monuments were erected and used between 4,300 and 3,500 BC. All of the tombs had been used for secondary burials during the late Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages.

The dates from Carrowmore confirm what is known about the development of the megalithic traditions in Brittany and France, where very early megalithic activity can be associated with late Mesolithic and early Neolithic societies forming complex social systems based on a rich maritime economy.

Based on ‘The Megalithic Cemetery of Carrowmore, Co. Sligo’ – Goran Burenhult (2001)