A reconsideration of the radiocarbon dating of the Marine Isotope Stage 3 fauna from southern Ireland

With the improvements in the techniques of radiocarbon dating since the 1990s and the pretreatment of bone samples, it has become apparent that some of the radiocarbon dates from Irish caves such as Castlepook Cave may not be as accurate as previously determined. The faunal remains and sediments within Castlepook Cave are important as this cave is one of only two caves in Ireland in which both pre- and post-Last Glacial Maximum sediments containing faunal remains are found. In this study, samples of identified bones were re-dated from this cave as well as two others (Foley and Shandon caves) from the same region in the south-southeast of Ireland. The new dates from Castlepook Cave disclosed results that were significantly older by between c. 5000 and 12 000 radiocarbon years. This was not as apparent in dates obtained from Foley and Shandon caves, where the new dates were older by c. 4000 radiocarbon years on average. The results imply a much older presence of certain mammals during MIS 3 in Ireland and suggest that certain species, notably giant deer and spotted hyaena, may have become locally extirpated before the Last Glacial Maximum, around 40 cal. ka BP.