Delighted to say Iโve got awarded a grant for 12 radiocarbon dates to use on animal bones from Castlepook cave, from the Speleological Union of Ireland. Thank you very much! #CaveArchaeology #IrishArchaeology #CastlepookCaveProject ๐บ๐ฆฃ #Zooarchaeology
From cave sediment to hand.
From hand into sample bag & labelled.
From bag to washing & drying.
From drying to new bag & label.
To my desk for identification and recording of data.
This is a femur from a ancient red fox.
@ria.ie @researchireland.ie
#CastlepookCaveProject
#research ๐บ๐ฆฃ ๐ฎ๐ช
Until the next season! Done & dusted!
We have lots to wet sieve, wash, dry bonesโฆ lots of analyses to do, to add pieces of the unknown jigsaw and continue to tell the stories of all animals and the cave system as we go!
Main funders @ria.ie 2/2
#CastlepookCaveProject ๐บ
Processed a few more photos from our excavation at Castlepook cave last July. Been so busy havenโt had time, so many excavated bones and prob close to 100 bulk bags of cave sediment from diff contexts to wet sieve! We were busy!!! #CastlepookCaveProject ๐บ
Main funders @ria.ie 1/2
A black and white photograph of a young woman in a caving oversuit, with helmet and caving head torch, which is off. Emma Hawkes is the name of the cave archaeologist and she is holding a partial long bone covered in cave sandy sediment, from a reindeer. She is standing within an open chamber in Castlepook cave named Hyena Hall. A person stands, off camera, to her right with their head torch shining onto the bone in her hands which are gloved, to illuminate the bone.
Emma Hawkes, one of our wonderful cave archaeologists, holding a partial reindeer bone standing in Hyena Hall, Castlepook cave, Co. Cork.
We were funded by @ria.ie & supported with funding by @researchireland.ie & Cork County Council. Working with CSG.
#CastlepookCaveProject
#IrishArchaeology ๐บ
4/END
So now we wait until sometime in December for all the dating results and these will feed into another paper to write. Exciting !
#CastlepookCaveProject #cavearchaeology #IrishArchaeology #zooarchaeology #IrishPalaeolithic #research
Day 5
#CastlepookCaveProject excavation 2025
A very warm afternoon (26Cel in the shade now). Cooler in the cave.
A great first week and more bones coming out of the cave from various areas. Week 2 should be great!
Post-ex will be fun with me!
@ria.ie
@researchireland.ie
#CaveArchaeology ๐บ
Day 3 โฆ bones coming out today including brown bear and below, a reindeer distal humerus (front leg).
Sun blazing from the blue sky!
#Castlepookcaveproject
#PALAEOIreland
#CSG #cavearchaeology
#IrishCaveBones #IrishArchaeology
๐บ๏ฟผ
@ria.ie @researchireland.ie @ucddublin.bsky.social
