Poulnabrone Wedge Tomb — Poulawack Plateau
Poll na Brón Wedge Tomb
Chalcolithic (2500–2000 BCE)·Irish Chalcolithic·🇮🇪 County Clare, Ireland
About
About Poulnabrone Wedge Tomb — Poulawack Plateau
Poulnabrone's lesser-known sister wedge tomb on Poulawack plateau in the Burren, a well-preserved wedge-shaped gallery grave with double-walled construction set in limestone pavement. Excavation yielded cremated and inhumed burials with Beaker pottery and incised stone.
Why it mattersRare upland wedge tomb preserving Burren funerary landscape beyond the famous Poulnabrone dolmen
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why wedge tombs cluster on Burren plateaux
- 02Beaker association chronology
Theories
- 01Territorial marker for pastoral groups
- 02Ancestral burial reuse over 500 years
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. 2420 BCE
- Period
- Chalcolithic (2500–2000 BCE)
- Culture
- Irish Chalcolithic
- Purpose
- Wedge tomb with antechamber and burial gallery oriented WSW within Burren limestone pavement
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 2420 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1700 BCE
Secondary insertions
1952 CE
Discovery during land clearance
1986–1988 CE
Henncken & Hencken excavation
On the ground
Structures & features
53.0110° N · 9.1230° W · 150 m · 3 mapped features
Wedge Gallery Main Chamber
chamberPrimary 3 m gallery with septal stone dividing antechamber
53.0113° N · 9.1228° WOuter Cairn and Kerb
cairnOval cairn 10 m with kerb stones defining edge
53.0106° N · 9.1229° WBurren Limestone Setting
landscapeKarst pavement grikes and clints surrounding tomb
53.0116° N · 9.1233° W