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Poulnabrone portal tomb at the Burren in County Clare
is one of the world's best known and most visited dolmens. Ireland is fortunate in having
almost 200 dolmens and of course
Brownshill in county Carlow is the largest. But when the
setting is taken into account, and the wildflowers of the Burren,
the isolation from a built environment, the quite, and the sheer magic are
considered, Poulnabrone must come out on top. It is estimated as
being 4,500 years old which places it at the end of the Neolithic
and the beginning of Ireland's Bronze Age. We must not forget
however, that when the dolmen was erected here 4,500 years ago the
landscape probably looked very different. There is evidence
that they people who bult the many tombs on the burren actually
farmed the area and the Burren would habe had a covering of soil
with scrub, trees and grass growing there. It was this very
farming which caused the stripping away of the soil and leaves us
today with the dramatis limestone landscape for which the area is
famous.
During an archaeological excavation at Poulnabrone,
uncremated remains of 6 children and approximately 20 adults were
found. A polished stone axe, some bone and flint items and broken
pieces of pottery were also found.
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