Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Western Terrace
Chalcolithic (2500-2000 BCE)·Irish Chalcolithic·🇮🇪 The Burren, County Clare, Ireland
About
About Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Western Terrace
Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Western Terrace in The Burren, County Clare, Ireland is a Chalcolithic (2500-2000 BCE) megalithic attributed to Irish Chalcolithic. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal necropolis 12 × 5 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 53.0168N -9.1088E controls access to The Burren, County Clare resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey megalithic for The Burren, County Clare, illustrating Irish Chalcolithic construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Scale of population vs agricultural catchment
- 02Ritual vs domestic use
Theories
- 01Ancestral burial reuse over centuries
- 02Astronomical alignment hypothesis
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 2400 BCE
- Period
- Chalcolithic (2500-2000 BCE)
- Culture
- Irish Chalcolithic
- Purpose
- Collective burial and territorial marker for agro-pastoral community
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 2400 BCE
Initial construction of Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Western Terrace main structure
c. 1184 CE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Western Terrace
19th–20th century
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Western Terrace) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
53.0168° N · 9.1088° W · 117 m · 3 mapped features
Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Western Terrace — Main Megalithic Feature
rock artPrimary rock art at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Western Terrace — burial gallery with stratified deposits
53.0151° N · 9.1096° WPoulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Western Terrace — Secondary Enclosure
hydraulicAncillary hydraulic at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Western Terrace — platform mound with stratified deposits
53.0151° N · 9.1078° WPoulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Western Terrace — Outlier Rock Art Panel
necropolisOutlier necropolis panel linked to Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Western Terrace ceremonial landscape
53.0185° N · 9.1096° W