ONE of the oldest signs of a human settlement discovered in Ireland has been dug out of the mud flats in the Shannon Estuary.
The mesolithic or middle-Stone Age wooden canoe has been radio carbon dated at 4800 BC, indicating a community of hunter-gatherers in the western estuary about 7,000 years ago.
It thus far pre-dates farming communities and civilisations such as at Newgrange, which dates back to 2500 BC.
The discovery was made near the south bank of the Shannon opposite Bunratty.
Other artefacts discovered nearby include a portion of a human skull, which has been sent to England to determine its age and possibly throw light on the diet at that time; a fish trap more than 1,000 years old; some flint tools and bronze-age huts from 1500 BC, and a neolithic wooden basket dating back to 3800 BC.
The wooden canoe, said to be at least 2,000 years older than any craft so far found in Ireland, has been sunk back into the mud for the time being.
The canoe would, according to archeologists, deteriorate rapidly if exposed to air, so it is remaining buried to preserve it. It also allows time plan more extensive
The discovery was made during a low-tide survey directed by Mr Aidan O'Sullivan of the Discovery Programme, the publicly-funded archaeological research institution.
The manager of the Discovery Programme, Mr Ronan O'Flaherty, informed the Shannon Estuary Ports Authority of the find in a letter to the authority's chief executive, Mr Gerry Donnelly, who announced it at a meeting of the authority.
The canoe, which is 16 1/2-feet long and over two feet wide, is remarkable in that it is carved from a single piece of straight-grained poplar and was fashioned to have a curved bow and a straight stern, Mr O'Flaherty told The Irish Times.
"The marks of the stone-tools used to carve the boat can still be seen on areas of the wood. It has been chipped away very carefully by the mesolithic builders so that the walls of the vessel would have been very thin," he said.
The builder's intention, he added, seems to have been to produce a light, manoeuverable craft suitable for use in the creeks and water channels of the Shannon estuary. The Shannon canoe is similar to boats used in Denmark about 4800 B.C.
Mr O'Flaherty said it had been decided to rebury the boat completely and not to lift it, at least far the present.