6,000-year-old settlement poses tsunami mystery

By Andrew Hamilton

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Archeologists have uncovered evidence of pre-farming people living in the Burren more than 6,000 years ago — one of the oldest habitations ever unearthed in Ireland.

Radiocarbon dating of a shellfish midden on Fanore Beach in north Clare have revealed it to be at least 6,000 years old — hundreds of years older than the nearby Poulnabrone dolmen.

The midden — a cooking area where nomad hunter-gatherers boiled or roasted shellfish — contained Stone Age implements, including two axes and a number of smaller stone tools.

Excavation of the site revealed a mysterious black layer of organic material, which archeologists believe may be the results of a Stone Age tsunami which hit the Clare coast, possibly wiping out the people who used the midden.

The midden was discovered by local woman Elaine O’Malley in 2009 and a major excavation of the site is being led by Michael Lynch, field monument adviser for Co Clare.

"This is the oldest settlement in Clare," said Mr Lynch. "We have always thought hunter-gatherers existed in Clare but this is the first real evidence of that.

"These people were pre-farming. Farming would have been introduced a few generations later and these farmers built monuments like the dolmen.

"These people would have come to certain places at certain times of the year. Obviously they came here to eat shellfish, but possibly they had another place beside a river nearby for when they wanted to catch salmon and trout, and at other times they would have collected things like hazel nuts.

"We know that they were . . . {read the full article}

Schoolchildren plan a minute of silence for Great Famine victims

SCHOOLS ACROSS IRELAND will hold a minute-long silence tomorrow afternoon to pay tribute to those who lost their lives or loved ones during the Great Famine in the 19th century.

Children in Ireland’s primary and secondary schools will remain silent for one minute from noon on Friday [11 May] as a gesture of respect for and acknowledgement of those who died or suffered loss between 1845 and 1852.

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan said the students will also “contemplate famine and hunger worldwide” during the reflection period.

He thanked them for supporting the National Famine Commemoration Committee’s initiative.

“In pausing to remember the past, we also remain aware of world hunger and the issues around the shortage of food which affect so many parts of our world today,” he said. “There is . . . {read the full article}

National Famine Commemoration 2012