Algorithm-guided survey finds 15,000-year-old cave art in southwest Ireland

September 7, 2026 at 08:24 AM2 min

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An algorithm-guided survey of eight caves in southwest Ireland found engravings, ochre and charcoal paintings, and finger-drawn marks in clay dated to about 15,000 years ago. The discovery pushes back evidence of human presence in Ireland by roughly 5,000 years. The Lost Land Bridge Project team believes the art may be even older.

Key Facts

The Lost Land Bridge Project team found art in eight of 28 candidate caves identified by a computer model trained on Welsh cave and rock-art sites.
The art includes engravings, ochre and charcoal paintings, and finger-drawn marks in clay, believed to date from at least about 15,000 years ago.
The previous oldest evidence of human presence in Ireland dated to roughly 10,500 years ago.
The project's coordinator is Dr George Nash of Liverpool University.
During the last Ice Age, a land bridge of roughly 46 miles (76 km) connected southwest Wales and southeast Ireland.

Algorithm-Guided Discovery

A computer model trained on characteristics of cave-dwelling and rock-art sites in south Wales identified 28 candidate caves in southwest Ireland. The Lost Land Bridge Project team found art in eight of those caves. The art includes engravings, ochre and charcoal paintings, and finger-drawn marks in clay. The team believes the art dates from at least about 15,000 years ago, based on stylistic and contextual grounds. Project coordinator Dr George Nash of Liverpool University framed the dating as 'at least that old, and possibly much earlier.'

Land Bridge Context

During the coldest stretches of the last Ice Age, lower sea levels exposed a broad plateau between Pembrokeshire in southwest Wales and the southeast corner of Ireland near Rosslare. The land bridge was roughly 46 miles (76 km) coast to coast, carrying forest and grassland. Summer temperatures on that landscape are often estimated at about −10°C to −20°C. The plateau supported large herbivores including wild horses, mammoth, bison, and reindeer. South Wales was settled around 35,000 to 40,000 years ago, and its caves preserve a long sequence of stone markings.