Ruth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 5, 2023
11/n Cave Day3: … listen …. Echoing up from the cave, the sounds of cleaning back using an archaeological trowel, uncovering intact cave sediment from thousands of years ago… time travelling happening here! #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 5, 2023
12/n (I’ve lost count already I think) …. Royal Irish Academy’s archaeological committee member, Sam Moore, visiting us on site. Dr Richard Jennings of Liverpool John Moores University standing next to Sam. Sam brought the sun with him from Sligo!
Time for coffee and chat!!!
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 5, 2023
12/n (I think, I’ve lost count again)…a little visitor to base camp today - a wood mouse - inspecting our work! #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 6, 2023
13/n Cave Day4: glorious morning here with sunshine and birds singing their little hearts out. Meanwhile cleaning back in the cave is going really well and revealing more and more cave sediment. #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 6, 2023
14/n First coffee break is always the best! This is how we do it…. Kelly Kettles are excellent to boil water fast. Freshly hand ground Lavazza Rossa coffee beans and spring water from a well - chef’s kiss ! 😁#coffee #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 6, 2023
15/n end of Day4…. Glorious day today. I even had to resort to putting Factor 50+ on my face, but forgot my hands (sunburnt)- am too fair for Irish sun! But excavation going well - there is cave sediment so that’s good. #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 7, 2023
16/n Cave Day5: Brisk start to the morning on site with sun trying to break through. Chilly breeze and the trench digging has started! Coffee break will be welcome later! #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 7, 2023
17/n Our on site toilet facilities are on a hill, with beautiful views of surrounds. A bit windy and refreshing! But worth the short walk …. for both reasons 😜😁 #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 7, 2023
18/n Our spoil heap is growing, sieving ongoing and finding some small animal bone fragments.
#IrishCaveBones #timelapse #loveirishresearch
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 7, 2023
19/n Our first animal (bird) bone finds and artefacts coming out now from cave sediment. Molly, one of our work placement students from @LJMU , with her first finds = happy archaeologist! #IrishCaveBones #LoveIrishResearch
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 11, 2023
Many thanks to Conor Nelligan, Heritage Officer and Yvonne for visiting us from Cork County Council on site this very wet and cold afternoon. We really appreciate their funding last year for our ongoing cave excavations. Looking forward to seeing them again later this year. #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 11, 2023
18/ or 21/n (sorry the cold &rain made me lose count today). Washed out of it this afternoon, with all the rain, so finished up a hour ahead of our usual time. Everyone very wet and very cold. I’m drinking some hot tea to warm up now, back at it tomorrow! #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 12, 2023
22/n due to weather, wind warning we are off site for the morning. Will see how it goes later… #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕
23/n getting slightly better outside… at least my Land Cruiser is getting a wash! We are aiming to be on site in the afternoon if the weather holds. We need it to be dry to use the Total Station to record our points. #IrishCaveBones
Apr 12, 2023 at 10:24amWeb
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 12, 2023
23/n back on site …. Very windy or is that a monster hiding in the gorse bushes? 😱😱 #IrishCaveBones (PS: just started lashing rain again)
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 13, 2023
25/n post storm and it’s glorious but now all the spoil has to go back where it came from. And 😱I forgot the coffee hand grinder this morning. We might have to resort to crushing coffee beans between rocks! #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 13, 2023
26/n and so it begins … put back the cave sediment from whence it came .. tough hard work and this is Phil putting in the back breaking task. Tomorrow we finish up, so had to make a start on this today. #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 13, 2023
27/n only here do we get sunshine and rain at the same time… listen … #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 13, 2023
28/n … and hailstones ! #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 13, 2023
29/n …. And even more longer lasting hailstones ! #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 14, 2023
30/n We have Dr Mike Simms from National Museums of Northern Ireland with us today. He specialises in how limestone caves form, something we really to know to make sense of distribution of sediment and bones within caves. With @bethstevens03 from @LJMU_HEB. #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 14, 2023
31/33 All packed up for now. We shall return in September for lots more cave adventures. Thank to you all visitors to site and the landowner. We are most grateful. Thanks to our team, Richard, Phil, Ruth, Rea, Kevin, Molly, Beth & Annie, & to cavers Stan & Brian. #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 14, 2023
32/33 we are also very grateful to our funders @RIAdawson for the archaeological research excavation grant. It’s been a wonderful two weeks and we have learned more about Pleistocene Ireland. Much discussions about what we’ve learned and reports shall follow. #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 14, 2023
31.5/33 and also to Denise and Monika from the Cork Speleological Group, without these members our work would be impossible! We are extremely grateful for our collaboration with them, which is ongoing.
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 14, 2023
32.5/33 so this thread ends for our cave excavation April 2023. Thanks for following. My adventures return to antiquarian excavated cave bones in museums’ archives. I travel to Northern Ireland to Ulster Museum & back to National Museum of Ireland too, reassessing #IrishCaveBones
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 14, 2023
33/33 I also start analysing cave bones’ data for a few papers for our @IrishResearch COALESCE grant, with Helen Lewis and others. Mid June onwards I will be writing & looking forward to sharing with ye those exciting #IrishCaveBones results! I’ll provide updates &teasers here 😁
Show threadRuth Carden 🦴🦌🐕Apr 14, 2023
Post script: (as you can see I’m not good at keeping threads!) I’ll post some photos of our April 2023 cave excavation and the team and visitors here too in the next few weeks. I almost filled a 256gb card!!! #IrishCaveBones