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Did the first known humans in Ireland walk over from Wales?

Illustration of a tribe of hunter-gatherers.Getty Images

Could the first known humans to set foot on Ireland, actually have come from Wales?

Researchers believe this theory might be possible, after discovering ancient cave art in south-west Ireland.

The artwork is at least 15,000 years old - around 5,000 years older than the previous oldest evidence of humans in Ireland.

Experts think that people may have travelled there from Wales using a stretch of land that once connected the two countries.

More discoveries

At a secret location on a hillside in south-west Ireland, a roughly circular natural cave entrance with moss-covered limestone surrounds, covered with ferns, ivy and brambles.George Nash/Lost Land Bridge Project

During the most recent Ice Age, sea levels were much lower than they are today.

Researchers believe that meant a strip of land appeared between what is now Pembrokeshire in Wales, and the south-east tip of Ireland, around Rosslare.

According to rock expert Dr George Nash, from Liverpool University, hunter gatherers could have used this route to travel between the two areas.

Dr Nash, along with an international team of experts, decided to take a closer look as part of the Lost Land Bridge Project.

Using computer technology and artificial intelligence (AI), they found 28 possible cave sites in south-west Ireland, which were similar to those found in south Wales.

The team then investigated those sites, and found that eight of the caves contained rock art which they believed to date back from at least 15,000 years ago - and possibly much earlier.

This is around 5,000 years before the previous oldest example of humans in Ireland.

Lit from behind the photographer's beam illuminates the image of what Dr Nash believes to be a mammoth. With its head to the right, a curved tusk is prominent.George Nash/Lost Land Bridge Project

This image shows a mammoth on the limestone wall of a cave in south-west Ireland

The artwork the team found included engravings on the cave walls, such as one image that appeared to show a mammoth.

Experts said that these discoveries suggest that humans may have reached Ireland much earlier than previously thought.

Dr Nash said he believed the growing population put pressure on humans to move ever more west and northwards.

He explained: "Competition for these caves would have been intense.

"As family networks grew, knowledge of how to survive by following animal migration routes improved and they must have become bolder."

Researchers are keeping the exact locations of the caves secret to protect them from being damaged.

They also think there could be many more exciting discoveries ahead.

Dr Nash added: "There must be more, and even earlier places which are just waiting for us to find them. It's all very exciting."