Over 5,000 years ago, enormous slabs of limestone were used to construct the Poulnabrone Portal Tomb in western Ireland. This structure measures approximately 12 ft long by 7 ft wide by 6 ft high. Loose stone surrounds and supports the structure

Archaeologists discovered the remains of over 30 people buried at this site. The remains dated from 5,800 to 5,200 years ago. The bodies likely decomposed elsewhere and then were transported here. An infant found here is the first documented case of Down Syndrome. Items found near the dead included a polished stone axe, decorated bone pendant, stone beads, chert and flint weapons and implements, and fragments of pottery.

Poulnabrone is an example of a typical portal tomb. This is one of two tombs in the Burren district and the best-preserved in Ireland. Approximately 172 of these dolmens have been discovered in Ireland.

The rectangular-shaped chamber has two portal stones at the entrance, two orthostats (upright stones), and an end stone. A single large sloping capstone covers the top. This design may have enabled “the soul to depart easily from the lower angle at the back.”

Surrounding landscape

The karst landscape surrounding the site is almost as interesting as the tomb itself. Limestone has weathered over the years into interesting formations. 320 million years ago, the carboniferous limestone formed the floor of a warm, shallow sea.

Several geological features at this site include:
Grikes–Cracks between the limestone pavement of limestone.
Clints–Blocks of limestone.
Kamenitza–Small hollows in the limestone formed when rainwater dissolves.
Rillenkaren–Channels where rainwater flows off the sides of the pavement.

During the time of the tomb’s construction, forests and scattered grasslands covered the landscape. These forests included pine, elm, and hazel trees.

Farmers cultivated crops of wheat and barley and raised livestock. Ancient stone field walls at the site likely marked the boundaries of properties.

Poulnabrone is in remote townland near Ballyvaughin in County Clare, about an hour south of Galway. Over 200,000 people visit the site every year.

Poulnabrone is an English version of the Irish, Poll na Brón. The name translates to “Hole (or Pool) of the Quernstone” or, sometimes, “Hole of Sorrows.”

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day from Siobhán Súilleabháin, aka Siobhan Sullivan!

Three Things Challenge – two, thousand, one

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