Aghnadarragh ASSI

Aghnadarragh is an artificial outcrop in a flooded pit that was cut to exposed brown coal. A series of Pleistocene deposits were also exposed that record a series of events at the end of the last interglacial period, and the onset of Ireland's last major glaciation. It is the most complete sequence from this period in the British Isles.

The sequence consists of 10 discrete beds. Skeletal remains of woolly mammoth are frequent in one of the horizons, as well as the only remains of a Musk Ox found in Ireland. Modern dating techniques suggest ages between 75000 and 95000 years for the mammoth remains making them the oldest in Ireland. The horizons contain important evidence that allows us to construct a comprehensive history of the site.

The section tells a clear story of fluctuating climatic conditions beginning and ending with the passage of ice over the site. Vegetation established was typical of tundra conditions, yet sufficient enough to support herds of woolly mammoth and musk oxen in the summer.

Spruce and birch forest became established during a period of climatic improvement, this was followed by an open vegetation of grasses and sedges, indicating a return to harsher conditions. The sequence culminates in a thick bed of sand representing the margins of a wide sand plain, extending in front of the advancing glacial ice, which eventually covered the area and deposited glacial sediments, capping the series.

Site Related Documents

Site map (.PDF 585Kb), Citation Document (.PDF 85Kb) and Views about Management document (.PDF 45Kb).