439:, of which is told (and believed in both counties) that a woman in the county of Roscommon having an unruly calf could never get him home unless driving him by holding him by the tail; that one day he tried to escape and dragged the woman, against her will into the Hellmouth door ... and continued running until next morning. She came out at Kishcorren , to her own amazement and that of the neighbouring people. We believed it rather than try it."
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Further explorations took place in 1929 and 1930, and these led to the recovery of more bones of lemming, reindeer, mouse, pig, hare, horse, frog, rabbit, sheep, fox, stoat, bear, dog, ox, badger and rat. The excavations also discovered remains of
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was also discovered, drawing headlines around the country. Another important recovery was that of a metacarpus of reindeer, discovered above an area of burnt charcoal. This suggests that reindeer in
Ireland survived until the human period.
332:, confirming a late-glacial estimate for the bones found in the lower layers. Those of the bear, deer, hare, and wolf were dated to around 10,000 BC, while those of the stoat and horse were dated to around 6000 BC and 400 BC respectively.
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The first thorough exploration of the caves at
Keshcorran occurred during five weeks in 1901, and was initiated after a portion of a bear's skull had been discovered some years earlier. These excavations, headed by
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The sixteen interconnecting caves of white cherty limestone are found at the base of a line of low cliffs, on the western slope of the hill. They were formed from the atmospheric weathering of
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The caves have been used by man over several millennia, and it has long been suggested that they were the site of ancient religious practice or gathering such as
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containing limestone blocks can be found in many of them. Stalagmite floors are rare, and when present appear to have been burrowed into by foxes and badgers.
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crystals are abundant, and glacial boulder-beds can be found at the mouth of some of the caves, showing that
Keshcorran was at one time buried beneath an
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of an adult was recovered in a pool of water. It has subsequently been dated to the turn of the 11th century, coinciding with an entry in the
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348:"Muireadhach, a distinguished bishop, son of the brother of Ainmire Bocht, was suffocated in a cave, in Gaileanga of Corann."
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of a male were found in the caves, and man-made artefacts that were recovered include two bone needles, a bone comb, a stone
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at the foot of
Keshcorran. He is reputed to have been raised by a wolf in the caves, in a tale reminiscent of
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In more recent times, some of the mammal bones recovered from these excavations have been re-analysed with
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found in
Ireland at the time, the remains of several fish, and numerous species of bird, most notably the
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Finally, the excavations found evidence of occasional human habitation going as far back as the
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A more modern tale regarding the caves of
Keshcorran can be found in a 1779 diary of
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until the 20th century. The caves are often presented as being associated with the
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Report on a
Further Exploration (1929) of the Caves of Keshcorran, Co. Sligo
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Excavations carried out in the early 20th century, particularly those by
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Rugose coral biostromes in the late Viséan (Mississippian) of NW Ireland
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The most recent discovery from the caves occurred in 1971, when a left
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Also recovered from the excavations were the four oldest species of
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and oyster were also found, further supporting human settlement.
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156:) and consist of sixteen simple chambers, some interconnecting.
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and stories, with folk versions of these tales continuing in
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as taking refuge in the caves from a vengeful Fionn.
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located inside the caves. The second tale, known as
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431:"This cavern is said to communicate with that in
270:. For the first time in Ireland, evidence of the
358:The Kesh Caves featured prominently in medieval
596:. Institute of Technology Sligo. Archived from
395:, relates a journey by Fionn to an otherworld
387:The caves also feature in three stories about
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505:Dedicated to Sligo: 34 Essays on Sligo's Past
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370:, and as places to be respected and feared.
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507:. Publishing Sligo's Past. pp. 75–80.
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198:, and run perpendicular to the rock face.
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16:Limestone caves in County Sligo, Ireland
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222:The sixteen entrances to the Kesh Caves
409:the Death of Diarmuid in the Boar Hunt
588:
586:
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459:"Uaimheanna na Céise/Caves of Kesh"
148:located near the village of Keash,
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715:Caves of the Republic of Ireland
546:Scharff, Robert Francis (1903),
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687:The Memoirs of Gabriel Beranger
568:Gwynn, Arthur Montague (1940),
664:"The Mythology of Kesh Corann"
464:Placenames Database of Ireland
437:the Hellmouth door of Ireland
1:
503:Timoney, Martin, ed. (2013).
666:. Sacred Island Guided Tours
731:
341:Annals of the Four Masters
710:Geography of County Sligo
644:. University College Cork
622:. Show Caves of the World
37:
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487:The Festival of Lughnasa
485:MacNeill, Máire (1962),
401:Bruidhean Cheise Corainn
325:, cat, shrew, and duck.
254:, horse, sheep, donkey,
684:Wilde, William (1880),
433:the county of Roscommon
196:carboniferous limestone
98:Carboniferous limestone
594:"Bricklieve Mountains"
527:Aretz, Markus (2010),
391:. The first, found in
376:tells of the birth of
354:Folklore and mythology
240:Robert Francis Scharff
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233:1903 plan of the caves
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214:History of exploration
168:Robert Francis Scharff
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620:"Caves of Keshcorran"
246:, recovered bones of
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262:, badger, fox, dog,
244:Robert Lloyd Praeger
242:, R. J. Ussher, and
154:Bricklieve Mountains
128:, also known as the
117:R. L. Praeger (1901)
600:on 19 November 2017
144:), are a series of
142:Uaimheanna na Céise
134:Caves of Keshcorran
75: /
31:Uaimheanna na Céise
24:Caves of Keshcorran
389:Fionn mac Cumhaill
373:Cath Maige Mucrama
330:radiocarbon dating
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79:54.0580°N 8.4500°W
514:978-0-9575547-0-2
382:Romulus and Remus
364:oral transmission
250:, ox, goat, pig,
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50:Keshcorran Hill,
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407:. Another tale,
405:Tuatha Dé Danann
313:type. Shells of
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84:54.0580; -8.4500
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642:"Annal M1007.2"
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668:. Retrieved
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624:. Retrieved
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602:. Retrieved
598:the original
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466:(logainm.ie)
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150:County Sligo
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52:County Sligo
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435:... called
411:, mentions
130:Keash Caves
112:Cave survey
82: /
58:Coordinates
704:Categories
445:References
368:otherworld
292:little auk
172:brown bear
161:Lughnasadh
67:54°03′29″N
690:, p. 48.
670:6 October
648:6 October
626:6 October
604:6 October
299:Neolithic
284:ptarmigan
258:, mouse,
231:Praeger's
204:ice sheet
184:grey wolf
180:Irish elk
103:Entrances
70:8°27′00″W
692:PDF here
577:20518797
555:30079180
413:Diarmuid
280:molluscs
47:Location
471:11 July
417:Gráinne
303:humerus
208:breccia
190:Geology
132:or the
95:Geology
575:
553:
511:
397:smithy
315:mussel
290:, and
266:, and
200:Quartz
182:, and
573:JSTOR
551:JSTOR
360:myths
337:tibia
268:stoat
138:Irish
672:2017
650:2017
628:2017
606:2017
509:ISBN
473:2023
415:and
311:adze
307:celt
288:smew
264:wolf
256:hare
252:bear
248:deer
124:The
323:elk
260:rat
706::
583:^
561:^
535:^
493:^
461:.
426:;
384:.
286:,
186:.
178:,
174:,
163:.
140::
106:16
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652:.
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608:.
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475:.
136:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
