Message #257113

[Raychel]

They say it is not possible to determine if such changes were linked to changes in sea levels. The location is currently normally well covered at full tide.

Only one species of red deer roamed in Ireland at that time, as the fallow deer dates from about 1200 AD.

Red deer were important in medieval society, Prof Williams and Mr O’Carra note, and monasteries used them to “establish an identity” for themselves as being beyond royal control.

They believe the antlers they found came from young, sexually mature stags. Red deer tend to drop their antlers each year around March and April, after the rutting season.

The horse bones matched a small young horse and an older horse or pony.
Glacial influence
The site appears to have been protected by glacial debris, and remains of drumlins point to a more extensive drumlin field in Galway Bay.

Both the National Museum of Ireland and the Office of Public Works have been notified, and Prof Williams and Mr O’Carra advise that the site requires “organised archaeological excavation”.

Mon, Dec 1, 2014, 09:41