A SKELETON found this month on the sands of Cul Dorcha, a stretch of coastline on the Dingle peninsula, has stirred the interest of historians and archaeologists. It has also highlighted the severe problems of coastal erosion in the area.
The discovery was made by a local man Mr Sean Feiritear, while walking across his land in Caherquin in the Ballyferriter Gaeltacht. Mr Feiritear saw the bones of a hand jutting from the sand and uncovered the intact skeleton.
"This body could have been 20 feet underground at one time but so much of the coastline has been eroded by storms in recent years that it is a regular occurrence to find exposed bones lying in the sand," said Mr Feiritear.
The bones have been removed by Ms Isobel Bennett, archaeologist and curator of Musaem Chorca Dhuibhne in Ballyferriter, and are stored at the museum awaiting further investigation.
Last October, the Office of Public Works commissioned Ms Bennett to investigate the site known locally as Teampall Ban (the white graveyard) believed to date back to medieval or early Christian times.
Among her findings was the body of a four year old child whose skeleton was slanted at an angle under the sand. Carbon datings which she submitted to the archaeological department at Queen's University, Belfast, are currently being analysed.
"This was a sickly child who probably died from rickets," she said. "A stone pillow under the head was similar to stone pillows found with the bodies in medieval burial sites in the Ardfert graveyard. But this was the first time we've seen it used for a child's burial."
Grain seeds found on the site were only introduced to Ireland during the medieval period but no such finds were reported with this most recent discovery.
"Again, this was another skeleton of an individual with at least one pillow stone," said Ms Bennett. "As the body was buried in sand it was hard to determine ground level but it had not moved from its original resting place. The stone pillows mean ritual and care from the community, which suggests the skeleton of the child and adult came from the area."
Bodies have been buried on Teampall Ban for centuries and in recent years the sight of human bones scattered along Cul Dorcha has caused serious concern to local people who believe the old burial site is gradually being uncovered.
A popular belief is that the bones are the remains of shipwrecked sailors or of Spanish soldiers killed by the English army in 1580 in the siege of Smerwick Harbour.
Mr Doncha O Connchuir, local historian and founder member of Comharchumann Forbartha Chorca Dhuibhne (the West Kerry Development cooperative) believes the site is more significant and could date to an early Christian period.
At a recent meeting with interested parties, Kerry Country Council offered the services of a qualified engineer and plans are being drawn up to use large boulders as a buffer against erosion.
Funding and resources are needed for further investigation of the site. But the exposure of the skeleton on Cul Dorcha is just one example of an ongoing problem along the Irish seaboard, where more than 1,500 km of the coast may be classified as being at risk.
A Code of Practice for coastal protection was introduced in March by the Minister for the Marine, Mr Barrett. ECOPRO is the result of a four year project which analysed more than 300 separate human and natural causes of coastal erosion.