Oldest human remains in Ireland

ecowise2

What's the oldest human remains that have been found in Ireland and where ?

Adam Khor

Had a new thread created for your question since it had nothing to do with the Triceratops thread.

shanered

"Since 1750 over 80 bog bodies have been found in Irish
bogs. Many of these are thought to have been buried in
the bog after ritual sacrifice. Two examples are ‘Croghan
Man’ and ‘Clonycavan Man’. ‘Croghan Man’ was found
in a bog in Offaly in June 2003. He lived in the Iron Age
and is thought to have died somewhere between 362
BC and 175 BC, making his body over 2,000 years old!
Even the contents of his stomach were preserved so we
can tell that his last meal was wheat and buttermilk.
‘Clonycavan Man’ was found in a bog in Meath in
March 2003. He also lived in the Iron Age and his body
is around 2,300 years old. He is best known for having
gel in his hair. The gel was keeping his hair in a Mohawk
style. This may have helped him to look taller as he
was only 5ft 2in. The gel was made of plant oil and
pine resin, which would have been imported from either
Spain or France. This shows that Ireland was trading
with southern Europe over 2,000 years ago!"

Extract from:
http://www.developmenteducation.ie/media/documents/Nature's_Way_PEATLANDS.pdf

I'm pretty sure the Clonycavan Man is the oldest found in recent history but I may be incorrect, I remember reading something in History class for the Leaving Cert if I am correct, again, its been many a year since my leaving cert so again, I may be incorrect.

Ziphius

Oldest I'm aware of is the burial sites in Hermitage county Limerick, which date back to aprox. 7,500 -7,200 BC.

http://www.culturalheritageireland.ie/index.php/irelands-top-100-heritage-discoveries/81-irelands-top-100-heritage-discoveries/171-irelands-oldest-burials

Mount Sandel in Co. Derry is older but I don't think there are any human remains.

robp

Ziphius wrote: »

Oldest I'm aware of is the burial sites in Hermitage county Limerick, which date back to aprox. 7,500 -7,200 BC.

http://www.culturalheritageireland.ie/index.php/irelands-top-100-heritage-discoveries/81-irelands-top-100-heritage-discoveries/171-irelands-oldest-burials

Mount Sandel in Co. Derry is older but I don't think there are any human remains.

Possibly Killuragh Cave or else Hermitage as mentioned.

Capt'n Midnight

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2010/july/ancient-britons-were-earliest-northern-europeans72335.html

Ancient humans lived in Britain more than 800,000 years ago, making them the earliest northern Europeans, scientists report in the journal Nature today.

So I'd guess there were humans here a long time ago since there were lower sea levels. And don't forget that the glaciers and erosion would have removed a lot of coast and older land bridges and islands.


Edit more background http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ancient.htm inc land bridge up to 10,000 years ago

Capt'n Midnight

http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0620/457766-snails-ireland/

Scientists believe a genetic similarity between snail fossils found in Ireland and the eastern Pyrenees suggests humans migrated from southern Europe to Ireland 8,000 years ago.
...
"If the snails naturally colonised Ireland, you would expect to find some of the same genetic type in other areas of Europe, especially Britain. We just don't find them.

"The highways of the past were rivers and the ocean, as the river that flanks the Pyrenees was an ancient trade route to the Atlantic.

hiberni

Ziphuis the oldest site in Ireland is near the river Shannon in southern Ireland . 500 years before mount sandel . .river shanon oldest site in Ireland .

mount sandel is 9,000 years old . site at shannon is 9,500 hundred years old but considering it's location there must be older sties in southern Ireland . :eek::o:D

Approximately 9,000 years ago, a small band of Mesolithic hunter-gathers chose a high ridge over-looking the River Bann in modern day Co. Derry as their home. Here, in a forest clearing, they erected a series of tent-like structures, fashioned out of wooden posts and covered in hides or thatch.





On a bend of the River Shannon, Ireland’s largest watercourse, a small band of hunter-gathers came to together nearly 9,500 years ago, to bury one of their own. At what is now known as Hermitage, Co. Limerick, they placed the remains of a man upon a large funerary pyre. It was then lit and afterwards the cremated bone was carefully gathered together and placed within a small pit, marked by a wooden post. Over the following years two more burials were added to this small cemetery and thus Ireland’s oldest-known graveyard was founded.

Ziphius

Yes, that appears to be the case -- the Shannon site does predate Mount Sandel by a few hundred years. Can't remember where I got the information for my original post.

hiberni

well you know what they say histroy is not wriiten in stone . just don't believe everthing you read online

Wibbs

Please, please, please, let me find a Levallois point in my travels. I swear Santa, I'll be very very extra good.

hiberni

k :P i see . and was your father santa as well . so your into santa