Burren remains are 1,500 years old

Results of radiocarbon dating of the ancient remains of a woman and two infant children discovered at a Burren fort last summer have dated the remains to between 535 to 649.

Yesterday, Burren farmer and owner of the lands, John Davoren said the dating of the remains to nearly 1,500 years old “fills in another piece of the puzzle at Caherconnell”.

Mr Davoren said the discovery last summer came as “a real surprise”.

The remains of the 45-year-old-plus woman, a baby aged 1 or 2, and a younger baby, were found buried underneath the wall of a fort at the site.

Caherconnell is located 1km from the Poulnabrone dolmen and the fort under excavation at Caherconnell was built around the 10th or 11th century.

Irish law dictates that all archaeological finds go to the National Museum, but Mr Davoren said that “it would be far preferable that we could have a display here of the find rather than the remains being locked away at the museum”.