Gleninsheen Wedge Tomb The Burren Co. Clare
This fine little wedge tomb dated around 2500 BC lies on the limestone uplands of the Burren in north-west Clare, a few kilometres south of Ballyvaughan.
Wedge tombs are named for their wedge-shaped plan: they are narrower and lower towards the rear. In this region excellent large slabs are readily available on the surface crag, so many wedge tombs like the one at Gleninsheen are built with a single large slab forming each side and a single great roof-stone. This gives a special neatness to these monuments especially as the tops of the sidestones are chipped to a straight line.
The entrance of Gleninsheen points roughly towards the west, while the magnificent Poulnabrone dolmen (which can be seen going further south on the R480, on the same side of the road), as most other Irish portal and court tombs, are generally built facing to the eastern half of the compass.
It is worth mentioning that on the same area there are over seventy megalithic tombs. Within a few hundred metres of Gleninsheen are two other wedge tombs: one is not very well preserved (east of the pictured grave), while the other is still covered by its cairn (to the north-east).
In 1932, in a rock crevice near this area a farmer found the famous Gleninsheen Collar: a 31cm gold gorget, probably a neck ornament, dated to about 700 BC and now on display at the National Museum in Dublin.
The Burren - Poulnabrone Portal Tomb - Ireland travel
During on travels through Ireland we visited the megalithic site of the Poulnabrone Portal Tomb. This dolmen had the remains of 33 people inside it as discovered during an archaeological excavation in 1985. This site in Burren is known to be the best preserved dolmen in the whole country. It was a rainy day in Ireland but a beautiful day nonetheless.
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Poulnabrone Portal Tomb - Ireland
The Poulnabrone Portal Tomb is one of the oldest Neolithic memorials to human history in the Burren, a moonlike limestone landscape situated in Ballyallaban, Baile Alboin, in midwestern Ireland.
Temple Cronan Monastic Site, Carron, The Burren
St Cronan founded the monastery here in the 7C. Tucked away in a little hollow is a delightful small pre-12C oratory, later rebuilt with Romanesque sculpture.
There are two tomb-shrines here with two sloping side sides and triangular shaped- pieces on the ends with a space for the pilgrim to put his hand in and touch the place where the saint is buried. The large plain tomb is said to be that of St Cronan. There is a Holy Well nearby, if you can find it, and also a Cross shaft and base to the NW.
500AD Ring Fort - The Burren
Poulnabrone Dolmen - The Burren, Co Clare
A Megalithic Burial Tomb, it is the Burren's most famous archaeological monument. It was excavated in 1986. The remains of 33 people were discovered, some dating back to 3000 BC. This place is well worth a stop if your nearby.
Cahercommaun Fort The Burren
Cahercommaun Triple Stone Fort (stone fort of Comin) is dramatically situated on the edge of a cliff, all three of its concentric walls abutting the cliff edge. Built around 800 AD and remarkably similar to the great fort at Dun Aenghus on the Aran islands, the inner wall alone used 16,500 tons of stone and was almost a complete circle before the north wall fell down the cliff.
Ireland Stone Forts
Mysteriously walking on the walls on a stone fort in Ireland.