Cave art discovery pushes back Ireland's human history by 5,000 years

Ancient cave art found in eight sites in south-west Ireland suggests human presence in the country dates back at least 15,000 years, approximately 5,000 years earlier than previously established evidence. The discovery, made by an international team of researchers, supports the theory that early humans arrived in Ireland from Wales via a land bridge that existed during the last Ice Age.

A Lost Land Bridge

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During the last Ice Age, reduced sea levels created a land bridge connecting Pembrokeshire in Wales with the south-east tip of Ireland, near Rosslare. Dr George Nash, a rock art expert from Liverpool University and coordinator of the Lost Land Bridge Project, stated that this pathway would have been an attractive route for hunter-gatherers. The land bridge would have supported a range of large herbivores, including wild horses, mammoth, bison, and reindeer, feeding on vegetation that grew in the near-frozen soil.

Dr Nash explained that prior to this discovery, the oldest archaeological evidence for human presence in Ireland dated to around 10,500 years ago. He believed this earlier date was incomplete and that researchers had not been looking in the right places. "The principle we worked on was 'absence of proof isn't proof of absence'," Dr Nash told BBC News.

AI-Assisted Discovery

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Advances in artificial intelligence played a significant role in identifying potential sites. The research team used an AI model, fed with data on cave characteristics from south Wales, to generate a list of 28 potential locations in Ireland. Subsequent investigation of these sites led to the confirmation of eight caves containing rock art. The art includes engravings, ochre and charcoal paintings, and fingertip indentations in clay and earth.

The researchers are currently withholding the exact locations of the caves to prevent vandalism and looting. Dr Nash noted that human settlement in modern-day south Wales dates back to between 35,000 and 40,000 years ago, with evidence of art progressing from simple line drawings to more figurative depictions. He suggested that increasing populations and competition for resources would have encouraged early humans to move further west and north.

The Lost Land Bridge Project team believes further discoveries are likely, as it is improbable that early humans bypassed other areas of south-west Ireland. Dr Nash expressed optimism that more ancient sites are waiting to be found, pushing the boundaries of understanding the early human frontier in north-west Europe.