Prehistoric tool found in Burren cave

Adam Khor

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Prehistoric-tool-made-from-antler-found-in-Burren-cave---hammerhead-found-among-bones-and-pottery-143956126.html

Galvasean

Gah, misleading title. I was expecting a shark!

bogwalrus

i was expecting the biggest tool of all, sean searlock

Galvasean

Can we leave the politics out of it please?

slowburner

Very interesting find, but this quote from the link above is a little alarming

Marion Dowd, for the Institute of Technology (IT) Sligo, presented their finding in Tubber, County Offaly, this week. She said the cave was used about 3,000 years ago, at the end of the Medieval period.

and this is perplexing,

Dr Dowd said “the discovery of the fabulous antler hammerhead is hugely exciting. I can’t find any other parallels in Irish archaeology.”

antler tools have been well documented, especially by Billy O'Brien in his work on the copper mines of Mount Gabriel.

http://www.nuigalway.ie/archaeology/Publications/books_published_by_departmental_staff_1990_to_1999.html

Oddly enough, Billy O'Brien also discovered 17th century remains (pottery) in one of the Bronze age mines he excavated.
Perhaps there was a tradition of venerating ancient caves/mines in the 17th C.

http://www.excavations.ie/Pages/Details.php?Year=&County=Cork&id=5807