Accelerator-Mass Spectrometer Ages for Late-Glacial Events at Ballybetagh, Ireland

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Abstract
Although the character of late-glacial vegetation development in Ireland is well known, the dating is weak for a number of reasons. We report six accelerator-mass spectrometer (AMS) 14C dates of hand-picked organic material from Ballybetagh. Several of the dates are based on terrestrial plant remains, thus eliminating the commonly encountered problem associated with Irish sites of errors due to the hard-water effect. The two most significant indicate that (1) the Rumex-Salix zone, which represents the initial establishment of vegetation following deglaciation, began about 12,600 yr B.P. and (2) the classic Younger Dryas began at 10,600 yr B.P., somewhat younger than the traditionally accepted age of 11,000 yr B.P.