1996:242 - KILLURAGH, Limerick

Killuragh Cave was first excavated in 1993 (Excavations 1993, 51–2). A new excavation was carried out at the site in 1996.

Several related reasons necessitated further excavation.

Material from both the original explorations and excavation of the cave system had been left in the vicinity of the cave and had in the course of time weathered down. In August 1994 the landowner, Mr Benny O'Neil, recovered archaeological material from the surface of the spoilheap and, realising its significance, removed the soil to his farmyard, where he meticulously examined it over a period of time. He recovered a further number of artefacts, including flint and pottery. The area outside the cave was also examined by Mr O'Neil in conjunction with Mr R. O Floinn of the National Museum, at which point a flint blade and more pottery were recovered.

During September 1994 Mr O'Neil began to recover microliths from the soil and informed the National Museum. After a visit by the author and Ms M. Cahill (National Museum), Mr M. Kelleher was employed to sieve the remainder of the spoilheap. Further artefacts, including a microlith and a fragment of pottery, were recovered, as well as beads and other objects of uncertain age.

In late 1995 radiocarbon dates were obtained for three human bones which had been submitted from the 1993 excavation. These indicated that at least two of the human bones present in the cave dated from approx. 8000 BP, while a third individual dated from approx. 4700 BP. The first dates were obviously associated with the microliths, which in Ireland tend to date to 8000 BP or earlier, while the later date would be associated with the two hollow scrapers which Mr O'Neil had found.

With the realisation that the cave and possibly its exterior had contained significant concentrations of archaeological material from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, it was decided that some of the problems might be resolved through further excavation. This was subsequently undertaken with the financial help of the National Monuments and Historic Buildings Service and the National Museum of Ireland. The purpose of the 1996 excavation was to ascertain whether any material or any traces of settlement remaining outside the cave showed signs of working its way into the cave. It was also hoped to establish whether any in situ deposits had survived within the cave in areas which were accessible to the excavators.

Platform outside the cave
As it was quite common for extensive occupation to take place outside cave entrances, it was decided to investigate three areas in the general vicinity of the cave. Trench 1 (2m x 2m) was placed on a platform below and to the west of the entrances. Trench 2 (2m x 1m) was placed on a flat terrace above Entrance 1. Trench 3 (1m x 1m) was placed on top of the limestone knoll which contained the caves.

While Trenches 1 and 3 produced little of significance, Trench 2 produced occasional flakes of flint, although there was little evidence of extensive prehistoric settlement in the general area. It was noted, by the presence of nineteenth-century glass and ceramics at a significant depth, that deposits in this area had been subjected to considerable disturbance. Since the excavation was completed, during general clearing of rubbish on the terrace, Mr O'Neil has found a chert scraper in the topsoil.

Entrance 1
It was apparent that much of the material from the earlier investigations was in a very weathered condition. As this suggested that material may have been washed into the cave, a residue of deposits at the base of the entrance passage was investigated. This revealed a fissure, approx. 4m long and 0.2m wide, containing up to 0.4m of deposits. Embedded in these deposits were several human teeth, a microlith and a flint blade. Cinder-like material was found in the upper deposits. There are indications that a large slab of rock partially, and probably deliberately, blocked the junction of the fissure and the cave. Work in the outer area of the entrance has so far produced no traces of in situ deposits which appeared to be clearly prehistoric. While modern ceramics were found close to the surface, nothing of recent significance was found at any depth. In the outer entrance to the fissure a concentration of dog bones was found beneath a layer of stones.

Entrance 2
Work within the mouth of the cave entrance consisted of the removal of deposits which had accumulated in the very recent past. Further investigations with a small trench suggested that most of the silt deposits in the outer area of the cave are sterile. These had been partially eroded away as a gully cut through a basal silt.

A small test-trench placed immediately outside Entrance 2 produced a flint flake from its upper levels, while a sherd of prehistoric pottery was found in what was a localised area of material derived from the earlier investigations. In this area concentrations of stone and soil filled the outer entrance. One fragment of iron was found within the stony deposit, as was a fragment of red deer antler. One human bone was found embedded in the uppermost portion of the same stony deposit. Where the stones were completely removed a compact orange basal clay was exposed.

The cave system
Investigation of the cave system itself identified two areas where some deposits had survived.

Immediately opposite the point where the fissure entered the cave a small pit was found to have cut through a gully, which in turn had disturbed an earlier pit. These features were cut into the underlying compact orange clay which forms the floor of the cave in this area. Although the fill of the later pit contained a microlith, the occurrence of a horse bone in the earliest pit suggested that the entire sequence was created after 4000 BP. This complex also contained quantities of animal and bird bone in variable condition, including burnt material and fresh bone. The earlier pit contained a portion of a human jaw in a relatively fresh condition, while the gully contained fresh bones and two heavily stained lower limb bones of giant deer.

In a second area, in line with Entrance 2, a large concentration of bones was recovered from loose soil in an alcove created in a niche in the cave wall. This material, which included a portion of a jaw of a large dog, hare and young pig bones, was in a relatively fresh condition. A giant deer phalanx was found adjacent to the underlying clays and may have derived from them. It was clear, however, that most of the bones had occurred in the uppermost layers of silt in the alcove. Excavation in this area did not expose the compact orange clay previously encountered on the floor of the main cave. Instead it would appear that in this area the clay had been eroded away, with several layers of sand and silt subsequently accumulating against the surviving clay floor in the main area of the cave. As noted earlier, the brown earth containing the bones in the alcove postdate these accumulated layers.

Since the completion of the excavation several samples have been submitted for radiocarbon dating in Oxford. These include:
horse bone from pit, approx. 3000 BP;
human bone from pit, approx. 3800 BP;
human jaw from 1993 excavation, approx. 5450 BP;
pig bone from alcove, approx. 3300 BP;
dog mandible from alcove, approx. 3900 BP;
human tooth from entrance fissure, approx. 5700 BP;
dog bone from entrance to fissure, approx. 4900 BP.

In the context of these and other dates, and given the very limited extent of in situ material, one can only speculate on the sequence of events at Killuragh Cave. As the human bones were frequently found out of context and as there was no association between individuals, it is virtually impossible to establish how many individuals belonged to each period at Killuragh. The discovery of a few flint flakes stratified above modern pottery and the recent find of a chert scraper from a similar context suggest that some, if not most, of the area adjacent to the cave has been disturbed since prehistory.

Several possible phases can now be identified, many of which may have been initially associated with activities on the knoll at Killuragh.
(1) Ritual activity in the early Mesolithic, associated with two or more human bodies. This phase may have been associated with one or more composite implements containing microliths.
(2) Ritual activity associated with the final stages of the Mesolithic, represented by the radiocarbon dates, probably from different individuals.
(3) Neolithic activity associated with at least one individual, and a possible placement of the dog at the entrance to the cave. Two hollow scrapers found by Mr O'Neil may have been associated with this phase.
(4) Bronze Age activity in which the only deliberately placed offering (?) seems to have been a human jaw in the pit at the rear of the cave.
(5) There may have been a later phase of activity which could have been associated with some form of metalworking.

It seems probable that no real settlement activity was associated with Phases 1 and 2 and it is possible that much of this material was washed in from outside. The Neolithic phase may be a product of activity within the cave itself, while it is probable that much of the Bronze Age phase is associated with the cave. Unfortunately, without a very costly programme of radiocarbon dating many of the issues cannot be resolved, and even with such a programme there is no guarantee of success.