The limestone outcrop marks the cave’s entrance.
Did you know that 350 million years ago Ireland lay close to the equator? In fact, Ireland was submerged under a tropical sea rich in marine life. This period in history is called the Carboniferous geological period.
As you begin your tour of this unique and ancient environment, you’ll learn how limestone was formed from the remains of prehistoric creatures, marine life and the lime-mud that settled on the ocean floor. Compressed by the water above, limestone beds formed one after another through time.
As the geological forces of our planet forced the rock beds to move and tilt, mountains were formed, creating fractures in the rock and exposing it to rain and soil water which is acidic.
This acidic environment dissolved the parts of the limestone rock made up of the prehistoric skeletons, allowing fissures to appear and water to make its way through the rock. Over time it created the caves and subterranean world that awes us at Crag Cave today.
When you step below ground, you are entering a world that was formed hundreds of millenia before the dinosaurs or humans roamed the earth!
…and don’t forget to look out for fossils in the cave walls!