Preliminary assessment of the potential for the application of soil micromorphology to previously excavated Irish cave sites

A preliminary study was carried out on the survival of in situ sediments from old cave excavations in Ireland, with the aim of assessing potential for soil micromorphological study of ancient use of caves and palaeoenvironmental history. The investigation comprised the development of a database of published excavated sites, the desk-based assessment of these as to their potential interest for soil micromorphological work, and the field-based assessment of a number of cave sites identified from the desk-top for survival of intact sediments. Specific recommendations are made regarding the caves assessed; in some cases there is already sufficient contextual information, and intact sections are available from which to sample, both in certain antiquarian excavations and in recent investigations.

Unpublished report for the Heritage Council (Grant No. 16267).